SERMON TITLE- “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry!”
SERMON SERIES or OCCASION- The things that destroy love
DATE- February 7th, 2021 LOCATION- Highway Christian Church
INTRODUCTION:
Illustration/Story/Quote/Statistic-
David Banner- “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”
Anger is a feeling that we all experience. It is an emotional response to something that we perceive as wrong, unjust, or unfair. In fact, probably the main cause for us getting angry is when we are hurt, inconvenienced, or treated unfairly by another. Our mind says, “That’s wrong!” and we feel angered.
One other emotion that tends to go hand-in-hand with anger is frustration. How many of you know that when you experience some frustration with something it can quickly turn into anger over that situation?
Modern psychologists view anger as a normal, natural, and mature emotion experienced by virtually all humans at times, and as something that has functional value for survival. Uncontrolled anger can, however, negatively affect personal or social well-being and impact negatively those around us.
- From Wikipedia
So when is anger wrong?
It is important to understand that much of our anger is fueled by a hatred of injustice, whether real or perceived. We are [enraged] when life seems unfair.
Selfish anger is provoked when we believe we’ve been treated unjustly or unfairly. We want something, we don’t get it, we feel deprived, and now someone is going to pay for having treated us this way. The goal is revenge. When driven by vengeance, we demand that someone pay now for the injustice we’ve suffered. We impatiently demand immediate execution of justice according to our [own] specifications, and refuse to allow time for God to work in the hearts of those who have offended us. Like everything else in our lives, our emotions have been discolored by sin.
- From questions.org
Sin has corrupted our emotions so that when we feel love, anger, sadness, or fear, those feelings are a mixture of self-centeredness and goodness, impurity and righteousness. And if we are truly honest, most times that we get angry it tends to be uncontrolled. Those are the times when it seems more difficult to not fly off the handle, raise our voice, say things that we regret, and even do things that we never thought that we would do. Anger is a powerful emotion, like a fire within your heart. That small fire can easily get out of hand and become a blazing and destructive forest fire. How often are those words true for us – “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”?
So when is anger wrong? When it is out of control. When it is expressed in negative or sinful ways. When it leads us to sin.
The question is: What does your anger lead you to do?
This month we will be studying the different emotions or attitudes that if allowed to grow, destroy our love for one another and make us into a person that we don’t want to become. Today we will be looking at anger.
BODY:
Please Turn in your Bibles to... James chapter one
James 1:19-20 - My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce (or achieve) the righteousness that God desires.
Notice it does not say that you can never get angry, but that you should be slow to get angry. Quick to listen and slow to speak. Say that back to me: “Slow to get angry.”
So many times we are very quick to speak and quick to get angry when we don’t like something. But we are very slow to listen and understand. Many times we don’t understand the full story, but we jump to conclusions and opinions that may not be true. And we are ready to fight. Maybe if we knew the full story of why, we would be more willing to show grace, love, and forgiveness. Maybe we wouldn’t be so quick to demand justice.
So why does “human anger” not produce the righteousness that God desires? What is the difference between human anger and Godly anger, or how would you define human anger?
Well as I said before, our emotions are tainted by sin so that what we feel has sin’s influence. And like it or not, we are not the judge. We are not the final authority. God is. You know what the Bible says about God? It says that God is love. God = Love. Therefore every thing that God does and everything that He feels is out of love. Ours tends to be from selfishness and self-preservation. Ours is not prompted by love but our selfish desires.
That word for righteousness can also mean justice, as in human anger does not produce the justice that God desires. So if we are wanting justice for something that someone does or how someone has wronged us, our human anger won’t achieve this. In fact, many times that anger causes us to take matters into our own hands instead of letting God be the final judge. As the scripture says in Romans 12:18-19 - If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. And then in verse 21 it says - Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Isn’t that the struggle that we all have when we get angry? Will we be overcome by evil, or will we overcome evil with good?
Ephesians 4:26-27 says - "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
“In your anger.” It says in your anger. That assumes that you will get angry, that anger is a natural human emotion. It doesn’t say “Do not get angry, because anger is a sin.” I’ve heard preachers talk about it that way. That’s incorrect. Anger is not sin; it’s a natural human emotion that even God feels. It’s what anger can become, what you do with your anger.
And what do you think it means to not let the sun go down while you are still angry? Have you ever gone to bed angry about something, and then you can’t let it go. It keeps you awake. It makes you toss and turn. It becomes more than anger, doesn’t it?
It becomes a grudge and it changes us. Slowly that anger that we allowed to grow replaces the love that was in our hearts. It begins to destroy our love. It gives the devil a foothold (like his foot’s in the door).
Therefore it says in Ephesians 4:31-32 - Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Get rid of it! Don’t hold onto it! Don’t allow it to take root and grow. You won’t like what it becomes… what fruit it produces in your life. I’ll say one thing: It definitely won’t produce the fruit of the Spirit, as in “Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, and Self-control.” No, just the opposite. Get rid of it before you are overcome with evil. Overcome evil with good. “How?” you say. Get rid of it and give it to God.
Let me ask you: Has what you’re feeling ever driven you to your knees?
Have you ever folded your hands in prayer and asked your Heavenly Father, “Lord, help me with what I’m feeling right now. Please don’t allow this bad thing that has happened to me cause me to go astray. I release my desire for justice and payback. I put that in your hands, Father. And I choose love, forgiveness, and mercy instead. I choose to forgive as you have forgiven me.”?
What if you did? What if you said that prayer the next time you get angry?
What if the bad things in life actually caused us to draw closer to God… the God who is love… and caused love to grow instead of hate, instead of anger and bitterness?
CONCLUSION:
This morning I invite you to give your anger, your hurts, your wounds and your scars to God. Give it to Him and put Him in charge of the injustices in your life. Let Him be the Lord and Judge over what happens to you. Allow God to work in your situation for good.
Would you Please stand
