QUOTES FOR REFLECTION
“Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others.”
~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) in his book The Great Divorce
“Grumbling is the death of love.”
~Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), German-American actress
“Bless you, prison! Bless you for being in my life. For there I came to realize that the object of life is not prosperity, as we are used to thinking, but the soul’s work.”
~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2007), Russian writer of his time in a Soviet gulag
“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.”
~Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (1808-1890), French critic and novelist
“Let us be ashamed of our slowness in thanking God when He gives, and of our quickness in grumbling at Him when He takes away.”
~Nikolaj Velimirovic (1880-1956), Servian Orthodox prelate, imprisoned by the Nazis
“Let me clear up something...God is not against you having things. He’s against things having you.”
~Voddie Baucham (1969-2025), pastor and writer
“Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.”
~John Henry Jowett (1863-1923), British minister and preacher
“What the Lord wants is that you shall go about the business to which He sets you, not asking for an easy post, nor grumbling at a hard one.”
~Catherine Booth (1829-1890), co-founder of The Salvation Army
“Thankfulness is a flower which will never bloom well except upon a root of deep humility.”
~J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), Anglican bishop of Liverpool
“Praise is the rehearsal of our eternal song. By grace we learn to sing, and in glory we continue to sing. What will some of you do when you get to heaven, if you go on grumbling all the way? Do not hope to get to heaven in that style. But now begin to bless the name of the Lord.”
~Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), famed London preacher
SERMON PASSAGE
Philippians 2:12-18 (ESV)
Philippians 2
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 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, 16 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. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Philippians 1
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.