Understanding the Critic’s Heart

- when I was a senior in high school, I was elected to be the class president…

- before that sounds like too large of an honor, it would be important for me to add that it was because practically no one else was willing to take the job…

- I had transferred to this small Christian High School in the middle of my sophomore year at my own initiative and our class only had 38 students…

- most of my new friends had known each other much longer than I had, and I learned the group had a reputation for not taking their studies or school responsibilities very seriously…

- so we had the election at the end of our junior year, and that summer, I decided to meet with a couple of guys in the class who had been at the school longer than I had just to get an idea of what some of our senior class goals ought to be…

- that led invariably to the question of where our senior trip should be…

- I was a bit surprised when they said – the class would like to go to Disney World…

- and I asked – has any class ever gone to Disney World before in the entire history of our school…

- and I learned that they didn’t think any class had ever gone to a location outside Indiana before..

- and when I asked how in the world they thought we could do that…their answer was something like – that’s why we elected you, or maybe it was – that’s your problem, not ours…

- so I decided to meet with the school administrator…and tell him about our desire to go to Disney World on our senior trip…

- I wish you could have heard his outburst of laughter…that’s when he proceeded to explain to me how many…in his words, “goof-offs” we had in our class and how he was concerned that because we were now seniors, our influence would probably have a negative influence on the entire school…and that it was highly unlikely that we would be leaving Lake County for our senior trip, much less the state of Indiana…

- I was prepared for that response…so I said, but this year we’re going to be different…

- we’re going to be positive leaders for the entire school…

- after more laughter, he said…here’s the immediate challenge…our annual candy sale starts in a couple of weeks – and we need those proceeds to fund our school budget…and the competition is by class…and your class has always done very poorly…

- I said – if the senior class wins the annual candy sale…can we go to Disney World for our senior trip?...

- as you can imagine – that led to more laughter – followed by – if your class wins the annual candy sale…we’ll talk about you going to Disney World…

- well, then it was game on…so as soon as school started, we had a class meeting in the gym…

- and I explained the deal I had struck with the administrator, and that if we wanted to go to Florida for our trip, we had to start by wining the candy sale…because that would set a positive example for the rest of the student body…

- I even ended that meeting by quoting 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (entirely out of context, by the way) …if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.

- later that day, a girl from our class came up to me and whispered – Steve, they’re starting to call you dictator…

- I’m sure I could have led in a much more gracious way – but I was getting my first taste of the sting of criticism…not just of some toward me…but of me towards others…

- amazingly though…our senior class that year won the annual candy sale…by a lot…

- and our administrator was shocked…but then when we sat down next, he explained to me that we had a lot of families in our school who were just barely getting by financially…

- it was hard enough to pay school tuition…and he wasn’t going to allow us to plan a trip anywhere that would cost the parents a single dime…

- so we had to figure out a way to earn enough money for everyone’s transportation, lodging, entrance to Disney Land…and because of the financial condition of some families, we also had to provide spending money for meals and incidentals..

- without getting into all the details, he allowed us to take over the school lunch program…and run an optional fund raiser at Christmastime…

- and sure enough, when spring rolled around, we had enough to cover all the costs, and even give people a packet of spending money based on how well they did on the fundraiser…

- here’s what surprised me as the date of the trip came closer…there was a lack of thanksgiving coupled with a propensity to criticize various aspects of the planning…

- some people didn’t like the Greyhound bus we chartered…

- others complained about the time we would have to leave…

- others wanted a different Disney resort hotel than the one we could afford…

- and I found myself being critical about people being critical…

- that was my first real memorable taste of a tendency that resides in all of our hearts…the propensity of being critical…and if that can happen to a group of people on our way to an all-expense paid trip to Disney Land…it can happen to just about anyone…

- with that in mind, please open your Bible to Numbers chapter 11…page 108 of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you…

- this summer we’re doing a series entitled Handling Criticism

- our entire pastoral staff will be involved in preparing and delivering these messages and I know you’ll enjoy hearing from each one of them…it is very important for our church at this point in our history and complexity that we have as many pastoral staff members as possible with strong preaching experience and giftedness…and I’m very thankful for the team the Lord has given us, and I know that you are too…

- this series fits into our annual theme of Growing in Gospel Gratitude

- often when we’re complaining or being critical of someone or something, it’s because there’s a lack of thankfulness…that’s not always the case, but it often is…

- now, we want to be sure to say that we’re not having this series because we’ve detected some kind of critical spirit among our church family and we believe it needs to be publicly addressed…

- truly the polar opposite is the case and the pandemic proved that to be the case…

- I’ve mentioned on several occasions the last couple of years that quite a few churches blew up during the pandemic, especially when that even was coupled with the presidential election cycle and the racial tensions our country continues to experience…

- by God’s grace – we were blessed with tremendous unity in the face of adversity…and for that we are very thankful…

- we also are not offering this series in a way to discourage what might be called “constructive criticism”…we just went through an entire strategic ministry planning cycle which began with over 2200 persons offering analysis of our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats…we even opened it up to the community and we because we believe in progressive sanctification at an institutional level, you could say we were inviting criticism…and the excellent plan that has been produced shows how important that openness is…

- that’s not what we’re talking about in this series…because the Scripture is clear…a surprising and saddening characteristic of the people of God is to be sinfully critical…that’s what we want to address and the truth is, we will all see ways we can improve and change….there’s no doubt about that…

- now one last question about this series title…when we say – Handling Criticism – are we talking about not being sinfully critical ourselves, or responding properly when someone is being sinfully critical of us?...and the answer is…yes…both perspectives will be in play depending on the passage we’re studying at the time…

- now, for our purposes this morning, we’re in Numbers chapter 11…which is a very sad and sobering portion of God’s Word…

- the previous chapter explains that we are now about a year removed from the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt…

- so by now the crossing of the Red Sea is in the rear-view mirror, and the giving of the law on Mount Sinai…

- God’s people have been taught about His holiness and the tabernacle has been prepared and the tribes have been organized for travel and even for war – for the conquest of the promised land (at least that’s the plan at this point in the narrative)…

- Numbers 10:11 explains the exact point of time we’re in - Numbers 10:11–13 - Now in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony; and the sons of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. So they moved out for the first time according to the commandment of the Lord through Moses.

- the chapter ends on a high note…because Moses is trying to talk his father in law’s son into coming with them…and he says…Numbers 10:29 - Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you’; come with us and we will do you good, for the Lord has promised good concerning Israel.”

- well, that may have been Moses’ mood – but it certainly wasn’t that of many of the people…let’s read…

- read 11:1-3 – so the exact nature of this initial criticism isn’t explained…but for the reader of the book of Numbers, the transition is shocking for sure…

- and the Lord judges with fire around the outskirts of the camp…which would have been stunning because the last thing you want in camp of a large group of people in tents is uncontrolled fire…which is why the people actually name this location – Taberah – place of burning…

- but regrettably, that warning does not have its desired effect, because look what happens next…

- read 11:4-9

- so now we have a very specific complaint…about the manna God has provided…anybody here in charge of the cooking at your house able to relate to this one?...

- so now Moses has to decide how he’s going to respond to criticism…read 11:10-15

- God’s response to this is twofold…in the next verses he creates more organizational structure so that the leadership and the ability to minister in the power of God’s Spirit is divided…

­ - Bible students are divided on the effect of that one…I tend to agree with John Calvin who saw in that a portion of God’s judgment because while it solved some problems, it certainly caused others…

- but the second response is stunning – read 11:31-35

- this morning we’re talking about Understanding the Critic’s Heart…and with the time we have remaining, let’s think about Three biblical observations about the critic’s inner person.

I. Criticism Arises in a Heart that Fails to Learn/Retain Important Spiritual Lessons

- I hope we would all say – I don’t like this passage of Scripture…we shouldn’t…

- but I hope we would also say…I certainly want to avoid putting myself or anyone I love in the position of facing this kind of judgment because of my critical heart and life…

- I realize someone might even say – I wish this wasn’t even in the Bible, or I don’t understand why it is…

- well, the NT is not silent on that question…speaking of a similar event in the wilderness, Paul told the Corinthians…1 Corinthians 10:6 - Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.

- church isn’t always entertaining – we sometimes ought to be sobered by what we read and study together…

- but why would this have been so surprising to the reader of the book of Numbers?...

- because anyone talking like this, or living like this, would have had to blow by all sorts of important spiritual lessons that were there for the taking the last year or so in the history of God’s people…like what?...

A. God’s powerful deliverance

- as we’ve said, we’re just a year removed from the Passover and the parting of the Red Sea

- these people knew that their first-born had been protected by simply obeying God’s command to smearing blood of a sacrificial lamb on the doorposts of their homes…

- imagine the lesson that was to the children…and the lesson that was to them…

- followed by the miraculous parting the Red Sea…

- it hadn’t been that long since…Exodus 15:1–3 - Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him. The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name.

- what happened to that song praising God for His great deliverance?...now they’re using those same tongues to complain and criticize?...what’s wrong with these people?...

- what’s the honest answer to that question….the same thing that’s wrong with you and me…

- this is why it’s so important to be in Lord’s house every Lord’s day as we recount the great salvation we enjoy in Christ…

- there’s a huge difference between a person discussing a question or dissatisfaction on the strong and large foundation of thanksgiving…and a person who simply has a foundation of endless complaint and criticism…

- by the way, what’s humbling is – when you go back and study the book of Exodus, we learn this account in Numbers 11 is not the first occasion of God’s people grumbling and complaining after the miraculous parting of the Red Sea…

- and friends, if we’ll let it – this period in the history of God’s people can teach us an important lesson…the tendency to complain and criticize runs deep in the heart of man…it arises in a heart that fails to learn/retain important spiritual lessons…

- there’s another important piece of the puzzle here…it also fails to learn/retain important spiritual lessons about…

B. God’s unique holiness

- earlier this year in my personal bible reading I went through the book of Leviticus…

- and I was reminded of a point one of my OT professors in seminary made when he said – you really can’t understand the message of the Bible until you understand the book of Leviticus…

- and I thought that was typical OT professor overstatement…

- but the older I get…the more I come to agree with that…not for everyone else, but for myself…

- we talk about, and even sing a lot about, God’s holiness (which is a central theme of the book of Leviticus)…

- but I wonder if we’ve sentimentalized that central attribute of God’s character that we’ve robbed it of its essential meaning…

- when the prophet Isaiah received a fresh glimpse of the holiness of God…do you remember what happened?...Isaiah 6:1–5 - In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

- it’s interesting to note that when the prophet had a greater understanding of God’s holiness…he immediately thought about the uncleanness of his…lips…

- the children of Israel had spent nearly a year at Mount Sinai learning about God’s holiness…yet apparently their hearts failed to learn or retain that important spiritual lesson…so much so that they flippantly criticized the circumstances their sovereign God had led them to…

- one of the ways I’ve been thinking about this series is to remember that criticism isn’t just what I do with my mouth, it’s what I review in my heart…

- see, what about your thought process while you’re out mowing the lawn…is it thanking God and others for the blessings you enjoy in Christ…or replaying some loop tape of rehearsing someone’s shortcomings or faults or disappointments?

- what about when you’re driving to work?...is it the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom or flippantly griping about something you don’t have?...

- there’s also the failure to learn/retain important spiritual lessons about…

C. The joy of sacrificial service

- it’s stunning to compare Numbers chapter 11 to Numbers chapter 6…

- because that is when the Lord lists all the gifts that were given by various people for the construction of the tabernacle…

- and it’s a long list of very substantial gifts…where both the family and the amount are specifically named…

- and you would think – if people were committed enough to live like that….surely they wouldn’t be guilty of critical spirits and complaining tongues?...yet here it is…right before our eyes in the pages of Scripture…

- and it would be good for each of us to ask – what trajectory are you on?...

- one that is growing in your understanding/retention of important spiritual lessons and therefore a habit of communication that is filled with thanksgiving for God and the people and circumstances He has placed around you…

- or is it a trajectory leading away from the retention of important spiritual lessons that is resulting in a critical, complaining lifestyle?...

- this might be a day where some of God’s people go to Him in repentance and confession and ask Him to restore unto you the joy of your salvation…

II. Criticism Develops in a Heart that Fails to Curb Greedy/Selfish Desires

- Scripture is clear that - Matthew 12:34 - For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

- isn’t it amazing how that principle is on full display here?...

- it had started by…

A. The desire to have a life free of adversity

Numbers 11:1 - Now the people became like those who complain of adversity…

- I appreciate what commentator James Philip said about these verses – God had bestowed on Israel the dignity and privilege of a spiritual calling and destiny; He had made bare His holy arm on their behalf, shown them the bright and glories prospect that faced them if they were prepared to walk in His ways—and they sneered at it, reacted against it, lightly esteemed it, and turned their backs on their spiritual destiny, in sheer carnal; worldliness. Discontent with a spiritual calling—this is the theme, and its relevance and importance are surely obvious for us, in relation to how He dealt with them for their sins (James Philip, The Communicator’s Commentary, Numbers, pp. 134-135).

- all of this sounds very similar to what the writer of Hebrews says about the issue of discipline in chapter 12…Hebrews 12:5 - and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;

- what if God accomplishing His plan in and through us involves our experiencing some measure of adversity?...can we curb the desire for ease and pleasure in order to fulfill His plan and purpose, and do so with the complaining and criticism that attends even the smallest of inconveniences…along with some of the significant trials God’s people are called upon to sometimes endure?

- but isn’t it fascinating that because that those desires went unchecked, that opened up the possibility of…

B. Following others characterized by spiritual discontent

- Numbers 11:4 - The rabble who were among them had greedy desires…

- you might say – who was that?...

- we can’t be dogmatic, but the original word could mean those who were non-Jews who had left Egypt with them, or who had joined in the last year…

- it could be a term of derision…king of like “riff-raff”…or as translated here, “the rabble”…

- but why would God’s people follow the rabble who were among them who had greedy desires?...

- we don’t have to think hard to answer that question…because we can end up doing the very same thing?...

- what kind of music do you listen to – those who are encouraging you to find your contentment in the plan and provision of God…or the rabble among you who have greedy desires…

- what cable news do you listen to…what late night comics hold your attention?...

- what about your friends and close associates…who has your ear?...

- if you hang around the croc long enough, you start smelling like a pickle?...

- have you surrounded yourself with critics and complainers?...

- and did you notice the content of their words?

C. Glorify the joys of the past and exaggerating the problems of the future

- Numbers 11:5–6 - We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.

- wow, you talk about having short attention spans…

- it hasn’t been that long since God explained to Moses at the burning bush…Exodus 3:7–9 - The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.

- how did we go from that to describing the good old days as having free fish in Egypt along with cucumbers and melons and leeks and onions and garlic?

- there’s nothing new under the sun, is there?...and how easy it for God’s people to glorify the past as we complain about the present and future?...

- they were tired and bored with God’s provision of manna…yet Psalm 78:24 said - Psalm 78:24 - He rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them food from heaven.

- Philip said – “to appreciate heavenly food one needs a heavenly taste” (James Philip, p. 136).

- do you recognize yourself in any of this?...does your criticism include a tendency on either side of this equation, or perhaps even both?...

- this also…

D. Illustrating the need for a divine mediator

- Moses’ complaints, while I suppose we would say were authentic, weren’t much better…

- yet all we have to do is close our eyes and thank the Lord that someone better than Moses has come…

- 1 John 2:1–2 - My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

- it’s possible that someone might be here this morning and would say – the reason I tend to complain and criticize is because I don’t have a relationship with God that even offers an alternative…

- this would be a great day to admit your sin and trust Him as Savior and Lord…

- Christian friend – let’s rejoice that we have Someone who stands between us and the just demands of our holy God…

- that intercessory work was even illustrated prophetically in Isaiah 6…because after the prophet expressed his concern that he was a man of unclean lips and dwelt in the midst of a people of unclean lips…do you remember what happened next?...

- Isaiah 6:6–7 - Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

- the great news is that critics and complainers can be forgiven and changed…

- you have to wonder how much of an impact this tendency had on their refusal just a few chapters later to enter the promised land?...

III. Criticism Results in a Heart Unwilling to Joyfully Follow God in the Future

- 10 of the 12 spies came back with a critical, negative report of the promised land, and they refused to enter…

- do you see the relationship between a critical heart/life and the inability and unwillingness to follow God’s plan?...

- that too became a focus in the book of Isaiah…

- what happened after his lips were cleansed?...

- Isaiah 6:8 - Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

(conclusion – tie back to where we are in the SMP process)…