Quit Whining, Praise God, Be Blessed!

March 1, 2026

At Old New Hope, we are going through a sermon series on the Ten Commandments. So far, we have studied the first two, and Lord willing, will cover number three this coming Sunday. All three of these commands deal with Israel’s relationship with God. Command number one tells us who God is. Don’t worship any gods but me. Number two tells us how to worship God. Don’t make any visual representations of me. Number three reveals God’s holiness. Don’t take the name of God in vain. All three of these commands (and they are commands, not suggestions) remind us that God is a holy God and we are unholy people. But do you know what I have been pondering as I prepare these sermons from the Decalogue (That’s preacher talk for the Ten Commandments. I’ve always wanted to use that word)? I’ve been pondering the fact that it is amazing that this Holy God wants anything to do with a bunch of ungrateful, complaining, whining brats like Israel. Repeatedly, as God gives His law on Mt. Sinai, He says, I am YOUR God, and you are MY people. As badly as Israel treated God, God still loved them and made a way for Israel to fellowship with Him and for Israel to be His chosen people. As I was pondering that fact, I was reminded that I am just as much an ungrateful, complaining, whining brat as Israel was, and He made a way for me to come to Him, too. He is MY God, despite my failures and shortcomings. He even takes my failures and shortcomings and covers them with the blood of Jesus, and He covers me with the righteousness of Jesus, so that, because of the righteousness of Jesus, He considers me a saint! I’m not making this stuff up as I type. Here’s a question for you. How many times does Paul call his readers saints in the New Testament? I’ll get you started. Paul refers to his readers as "saints" (meaning "set apart" or "holy ones") approximately 40 to 50 times in his letters. He uses this term to address all believers in churches, as in Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1, and Philippians 1:1. If you are a Christ follower, you are a saint, too, despite your failures and shortcomings. What an amazing God we serve. I think I will join Isaiah as he says, “O LORD, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them," Isaiah 25:1. In fact, when we think of all the wonderful things God has done for us, that should help us to eliminate our ungrateful, complaining, whining, brat-like nature and replace those character flaws with gratitude and praise.

Now, quit whining, praise God, be blessed, and then go be a blessing. . . Bro. Andy