Message by Chad Kelly
Introduction””We all know what anger is, and we have all felt it.
2012 seems to have been an angry year in many ways. Folks have been angry about the economy and about politics””maybe even more than usual.
One columnist writes:
In my opinion, the anger in America is as profound as that felt by those who fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. We can rest assured that it will be increasing dramatically over the next couple of years.
Anger has many different faces. And I don”™t know which of these two are funnier! (Angry Man and Angry Monkey slides).
The truth is that when we”™re angry, we think about as reasonably as these chickens. (Comic slide)
But anger itself isn”™t funny””it”™s painful and dangerous! (Danger slide)
Buddha
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else. You are the one who gets burned.
John Piper
Some people have more anger than they think, because it has disguises. When willpower hinders rage, anger smolders beneath the surface, and the teeth of the soul grind with frustration. It can come out in tears that look more like hurt. But the heart has learned that this may be the only way to hurt back. It may come out as silence because we have resolved not to fight. It may show up in picky criticism and relentless correction. It may strike out at persons that have nothing to do with its origin. It will often feel warranted by the wrongness of the cause. After all, Jesus got angry (Mark 3:5), and Paul says, “Be angry and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26). However, good anger among fallen people is rare . . . one of the greatest battles of life is the battle to ”˜put away anger”™, not just control its expressions.
“What do we do with anger practically?”
Three Actions we all need to take:
- Slow Down Your Emotions & Tongue and Speed Up Your Ears and Mind.
James 1:19-21
Dear friends, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Your anger can never make things right in God”™s sight.
*Bite Your Tongue
Proverbs 10:19””“Don”™t talk too much, for it fosters sin. Be sensible and turn off the flow!”
*Open Your Ears: Aim to Listen Longer
*ReMind Yourself that your anger never brings God”™s desired outcome.
You”™ve got to get your mind in the right gear to keep your emotions from going out of control!
Colossians 3:8
But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.”
1 Timothy 2:8
So wherever you assemble, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.”
1 Timothy 2:8 (MSG)
Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray””not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God.”
Slow down your emotions & tongue and speed up your ears and mind.
- Be Committed to Deal with Your Anger Today, if at all possible.
Ephesians 4:26-27”“ “And ”˜don”™t sin by letting anger gain control over you.”™ Don”™t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.”
Individually””You leave your heart open for other sin that spring from the selfishness of not dealing with your anger.
Corporately:
NGSB: “Because practical unity among believers displays God”™s reconciling power, the devil especially prizes its disruption” (1868).
Deal with your anger TODAY, if at all possible”¦
If you don”™t, you give away “ground” to the Enemy!
- Take Your Anger to the Cross and Exchange it for Forgiveness.
Ephesians 4:29-5:2
Don”™t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God”™s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Follow God”™s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him.”
There is no more practical way to deal with anger than to take a trip to the Cross!
Nothing else addresses the root of anger in our hearts!
That root is PRIDE/SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Piper: “Most of our bitterness and anger towards others is rooted in an inability to be profoundly amazed at Christ”™s love for us in our sin.”
Matthew 7:3-5””“And why worry about a speck in your friend”™s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ”˜Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye”™ when you can”™t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend”™s eye?”
Anne Lamott
You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
Simone Weil
I also am other than what I imagine myself to be. To know this is forgiveness
(Yancey, 104).
Ephesians 4:32
. . . be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Yancey
Only the experience of being forgiven makes it possible for us to forgive . . . Only by living in the stream of God”™s grace will I find the strength to respond with grace toward others. (What”™s So Amazing About Grace?, 90, 93)
Ronnie McBrayer
Our participation in the mission of Christ ”“ our very communion with the Father ”“ depends upon our willingness to extinguish the burning inferno in our souls by forgiving those who have harmed us.
Matthew 5:21-26 (NLT)
21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ”˜You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.”™ 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
23 “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.
25 “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 And if that happens, you surely won”™t be free again until you have paid the last penny.
Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT)
14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
George Herbert
He who cannot forgive another breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself.
Luke 23:34
Father, forgive these people, because they don”™t know what they are doing.
Yancey
Notably, he [Jesus] forgave those who had not repented: ”˜for they do not know what they are doing”™ (119).
Take your anger to the Cross and exchange it for forgiveness. There is no more practical way to deal with anger than to take a trip to the Cross!
Conclusion””Henri Nouwen defines forgiveness as “love practiced among people who love poorly” (Yancey, 92).
And yet, God will give us the strength to exchange anger for forgiveness!
Ronnie McBrayer
Is God-like forgiveness humanly possible? Yes, if it remains God”™s work! Forgiveness is not something we can accomplish on our own or within our own power (no more than we make the kingdom of God happen in the world). It”™s not something we conjure up. If forgiveness flows out of us to others, it is because God is doing it and not us ourselves. Consider those words we have prayed countless times: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Matthew 6:12, KJV). This phrase could be accurately translated: “Empower us to forgive others, with the forgiveness you have given us.” In praying that prayer, we admit and acknowledge that our ability to forgive comes from God. It is rooted in his forgiveness and grace. God must do it for us and through us, or it cannot be done. ”¦forgiveness is not so much something we do, as it is something we discover. It is the discovery of God”™s inexhaustible, inconceivable, insuppressible love ”“ for ourselves ”“ and even for those who have hurt us.
“Walter Wink tells of two peacemakers who visited a group of Polish Christians ten years after the end of World War II. ”˜Would you be willing to meet with other Christians from West Germany?”™ the peacemakers asked. ”˜They want to ask forgiveness for what Germany did to Poland during the war and to begin to build a new relationship.”™ At first there was silence. Then one Pole spoke up. ”˜What you are asking is impossible. Each stone of Warsaw is soaked in Polish blood! We cannot forgive!”™ Before the group parted, however, they said the Lord”™s Prayer together. When they reached the words ”˜forgive us our sins as we forgive . . .,”™ everyone stopped praying. Tension swelled in the room. The Pole who had spoken so vehemently said, ”˜I must say yes to you. I could no more pray the Our Father, I could no longer call myself a Christian, if I refuse to forgive. Humanly speaking, I cannot do it, but God will give us his strength!”™ Eighteen months later the Polish and West German Christians met together in Vienna, establishing friendships that continue to this day” (Yancey, 123).
Ronnie McBrayer
God”™s forgiveness will change the world ”“ it must ”“ for it is the only thing that has ever really worked to truly absolve and resolve the past. It is the only thing that closes the door on what happened yesterday, and opens the door to a better future.
“What do we do with anger practically?”
Slow Down Your Emotions & Tongue and Speed Up Your Ears and Mind.
Be Committed to Deal with Your Anger Today, if at all possible.
Take Your Anger to the Cross and Exchange it for Forgiveness.