The Four “a’s” ---- Anger

The Four “A’s” ----ANGER Proverbs 19:1111—All Scripture is NKJV

ILL. Ever heard of air rage?...

-As a passenger boarded the Los Angeles-to-New York plane, he told the flight attendant to wake him and make sure he got off when they set down at the mid point in Dallas. The passenger awoke just as the plane was landing in New York. Furious, he called the flight attendant and demanded an explanation. She mumbled an apology and, in a rage, the passenger stomped off the plane. "Boy, was he ever mad!" another crew member observed to her errant colleague. "If you think he was mad," replied the flight attendant, "you should have seen the guy I put off the plane in Dallas!"

A. BUT HAVE YOU EVER LOST YOUR TEMPER? Do you ever do things you wish you hadn’t

done, or say things you wish you had never said?

Well, the Bible has something to say about overcoming anger. Proverbs 19:11 (NKJ), "11The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.

11Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs. (NLT

The secret? If someone offends you, & if you are a man of wisdom (God’s wisdom) then you can overlook it, & not allow the situation to become a major event that overwhelms you.

B. There are 4 types of anger dealt with in the Bible.

1, SUDDEN ANGER-- is to be controlled.

2. SINFUL ANGER--- is to be condemned.

3. STUBBORN ANGER--- is to be conquered.

4. SANTIFIED ANGER---sanctified anger is to be channeled.

I. SUDDEN ANGER IS TO BE CONTROLLED

A. First of all there is sudden anger, & the Bible says that sudden anger is to be controlled.

1. Proverbs 14:17 says, "A quick-tempered man does foolish things."

a. We may blame our quick temper on our red hair Or we may blame it on our heritage.,

we’re Irish

b. But the bottom line is, if we have a short fuse, we’re going to do a lot of foolish things.

c. When we lose our temper we’ll say things we know we shouldn’t have said, & do things

that we’re going to be sorry for later on.

ILLUST:After spending 3-1/2 hours enduring long lines, rude clerks and insane regulations at the Department of Motor Vehicles, Glenn Vaughan stopped at a toy store to pick up a gift for his son. “I brought my selection - a baseball bat - to the cash register,” he said. "Cash or charge?" the clerk asked. "Cash," He snapped. Then apologizing for his rudeness, he explained, "I’ve spent the entire afternoon at the motor vehicle bureau." The woman sweetly replied, "shall I gift-wrap the bat…or are you going back there?"

2. Next, Proverbs 15:18 says, "A hot tempered man stirs up dissension."

a. You have a short fuse, if you’re always losing your temper,

b. if you’re walking around with a chip on your shoulder,

c. if you’re just looking for somebody to say something that

will irritate you,

d. Then you’re going to leave a trail of hurt feelings & unhappiness behind you.

ILL. Will Rogers said, "Whenever you fly into a rage, you seldom make a safe landing." And he

is right.

ILL. Chuck Swindoll said, "I got so angry that I gave him a piece of my mind. And it was a

piece that I couldn’t afford to lose."

The writer of Proverbs said, "A hot temper stirs up dissension."

4. Proverbs 19:19 says, "A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty."

ILL. Have you heard about the dog named "August" who was always trying to chase a mule named "Conclusion?" One day he jumped at Conclusion & bit him, & Conclusion kicked back at August. And that was the last day of August. Think about that for a moment.

Sometimes we jump to conclusions, & Solomon says that it is to our folly & our shame.

1. Doctors tell us that losing our temper consistently brings about high blood pressure,

dryness of mouth, & a fast-beating heart. It could even bring pre-mature death.

2. A hot temper could also mean loss of family & friends. The penalties of losing our temper

are many.

B. So the Bible says, "If you have a sudden temper, then you need to control it." But how can

we do that?

ILL. You say, "Why, I just can’t control my temper. It gets away from me." But you can. Have you ever found yourself engaged in a heated discussion with your voice getting louder & your words becoming more rapid? Then the telephone rings & you say, "Hello." Sure, you can control your temper.

B. So we need to recognize that we have a problem with temper.

C. Then we must confess our problem to God & ask for His help.