Devices Of The Devil: Anger Series

Intro: Last week in our study we covered Apathy. Apathy is possibly the second most powerful device of the devil. It is a vice that slowly or tightens its grip on us and causes us to be cold and unconcerned with the things of God. If apathy is the vice that slowly pinches off our emotion or concern for God and His will then anger is the dynamite that explodes and destroys relationships, reputations, witness, work, etc.

In Galatians we see the contrasted lists of the fruits of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Listen closely to the message translation.

Galatians 5:19-21 “It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex, a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage, frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness, trinket gods, magic-show religion, paranoid loneliness, cutthroat competition, all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants, a brutal temper, an impotence to love or be loved, divided homes and divided lives, small-minded and lopsided pursuits, the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival, uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions, ugly parodies of community. I could go on.”

Listed in a life that tries to get its own way is the danger of anger. In message a brutal temper, in the NKJV outbursts of wrath, in the NASB, NLT, GWT, HCS, outbursts of anger,

In the New Testament there are two words translated anger. One is thomos in Galatians 5.20 and carries the idea of passion or energy. The other is parorgismo which means irritation or agitation. Neither of these Greek words carry the idea of righteous indignation. You can either allow you anger to lead you or you can lead your anger. If your anger or any of your emotions are leading you then you are in great danger of falling into one of the devils many devices.

James gives us an excellent reason why we should not be ignorant of this device of the devil.

James 1.20-22 “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to be angry (James is assuming HS power to control attitudes), for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of (again HS empowerment) all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says! (emphasis mine)

I. The seriousness nature of anger

A) Its destructive power (divisive) (emotional, relational, physical, spiritual)

Anger is defined as deep and strong feelings rising out of an injustice, injury, wrong, whether real or perceived. What isn’t told by the definition is the extreme destructive power of anger.

Really all you have to do is look at our culture and you will see the destructive nature of anger. We live in the age of Rage. Road rage, air rage, mall rage, fan rage. You name we’ve got some type of rage or uncontrolled anger for it. This is nothing new. It began with Cain. He was angry because his little brother did what God said. I know you have never been mad at your good two shoes little brother before. Cain allowed his emotion to control him and it destroyed his brother and himself. Moses mad at the children of Israel struck the rock that God told him to speak to and because of it never got the privilege/blessing of going into the Promised Land. King Saul was mad that David was chosen by God to be king. He went mad and was killed on the field of battle. Ecclesiastes 7.9 tells us “Don’t be quick tempered for anger is the friend of fools.”) A fool in the Bible is one who rejects God and His rule and blessing for their. Anger can be like dynamite very destructive. It destroys your relationships to others, it can destroy your relationship with God (Pharoah), it can destroy your health, reputation (Bobby Knight)(Texas Tech Football Coach locking boy in closet), etc.

Realize that people who fly into a rage usually have a bad landing. Anger has a great potential to be destructive. John 10.10 the thief comes to destroy if the devil can he will destroy our joy, our relationships, our reputation and our witness with something not bigger than our temper.

B) Its doorway potential (Ephesians 4.26, Proverbs 25:28 (GNB))

The Bible is clear when we let anything other than God’s Holy Spirit control us we open a doorway or give a foot hold to the devil. God created us to be emotional creatures. We are made up of our intellect that is our ability to think, our will that is the ability to choose, our emotions that is our ability to feel. Unresolved anger gives the enemy an opportunity to lead us into unkind thoughts, words, and actions.