Are You Angry? Dr. Charles Stanley - (In Touch Ministries) The most dangerous of all emotions is ANGER. It is a destructive emotion! You have to deal with your anger! The bible makes it very clear what you are to do with that anger. There is good anger and bad anger. Most people experience bad anger. The question is this? ARE YOU AN ANGRY PERSON? Is there any evidence that you are angry person? What are you angry at? About? Why do you keep holding on to it? How long have you been angry? Why do you keep hanging on to it, this anger? Is it because of something that you think someone did? Or did something actually happen? How do you overcome it? Growing up with anger. It is a trait you can pass on from one generation to the next. 1
Anger affects a person mentally, spiritually, physically, psychologically. Ephesians 4:26-27 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Read scripture and talk to God before you go to bed Indignation I am angry about something I see happening to someone else. Abortion is a sin God will not overlook. This is the attitude that Jesus had, indignation. 27 Neither give place to the devil. Anger Definition (it s not just getting mad) A strong feeling of intense displeasure, hostility, or indignation as a result of a real or imagined threat, insult, frustration, or injustice toward yourself or others important to you. There are 3 aspects of anger: Rage explosive, uncontrollable, expression of anger Resentment suppression, refusal or denial that anger exists. Indignation anger expressed when you see something happening to others. This is the attitude Jesus had. He was angry but He didn t sin. You don t want rage and resentment in your life because they bear a real penalty. Proverbs 14:17 A short-tempered man is a fool. He hates the man who is patient. Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Proverbs 15:18 A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife 2
Proverbs 16:32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. Proverbs 22:24-25 Keep away from angry, short-tempered men, lest you learn to be like them and endanger your soul. An Angry person is a dangerous person Ecclesiastes 7:9 Don t be quick-tempered that is being a fool. Anger abides in the bosom of a fool. If they are an angry person do not have a relationship with this person other than trying to bring them to Christ. Who was the first person in the bible to be angry? Adam was the first person to get angry. See Genesis 3:11-12 11 Who told you you were naked? the Lord God asked. Have you eaten fruit from the tree I warned you about? 12 Yes, Adam admitted, but it was the woman you gave me who brought me some, and I ate it. Other angry people in the bible Cain was angry and murdered his brother Moses was angry at the children of Israel because they were God s chosen people Saul did his best to kill young David. He was angry and jealous of him. Nehemiah was angry Jonah was angry Being angry is a part of life. The issue about anger is what are we going to do about it? Anger is an issue of control. If you could control all of your circumstances and everybody would do what you want them to do then you wouldn t get angry. It s the character of God to be angry. God has given us the natural capacity to get angry. When anger is directed in the right direction, for the right 3
cause, the right purpose, and at the right time, it can become a powerful and positive force. All anger is not bad if it is directed in the right way. Anger is everywhere. We have to decide if we are going let it control us or if we are going to control it and how to deal with it. If you are angry without a sense direction or a purpose, you are simply having a tantrum. A lot of people have tantrums. Are you an angry person? What are you angry at? About? Why do you keep holding on to it? How long have you been angry? Why do you keep hanging on to it, this anger? Is it because of something that you think someone did? Or did something actually happen? How do you overcome it? Growing up with anger. It is a trait you can pass on from one generation to the next Does the person you married have an angry spirit? The more insecure a person is the easier they can feel anger in their hearts because most of the time they feel they are not being treated fairly or correctly. Ephesians: 4:31-32 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. These things, wrath, anger, evil speaking, etc. will devastate you spiritually, physically and mentally; our physical being is greatly affected. Bitterness: anger and disappointment at being treated unfairly; resentment. Causes for Anger 1) Primary cause of anger is when people do not get their way; they become angry. 2) They feel rejected. This can cause deep, deep anger in a person s life. 3) Fear of loss. They see that they may be losing but they have already lost so much. 4
4) A person feels threatened. They get angry. It s that anger that causes people to do all kinds of things that are destructive 5) Disappointment.. 6) Injustice. When we see other people being harmed, misused, and we can t do anything about it. This is righteous anger. 7) Inadequate a person came become angry because their background did not give them what they need to be adequate. Good Anger A form of anger that expresses itself against those who are mistreating others; this is good anger, legitimate anger; it is controlled and it has a purpose. What was it that God was angry about? He was angry that His plan for mankind and the nation of Israel was being thwarted for disobedience. Jesus is in the synagogue. The Pharisees and the Sadducees became angry because Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Mark 3:2-5 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus enemies watched him closely. Would he heal the man s hand? If he did, they planned to arrest him! 3 Jesus asked the man to come and stand in front of the congregation. 4 Then turning to his enemies he asked, Is it all right to do kind deeds on Sabbath days? Or is this a day for doing harm? Is it a day to save lives or to destroy them? But they wouldn t answer him. 5 Looking around at them angrily, for he was deeply disturbed by their indifference to human need, he said to the man, Reach out your hand. He did, and instantly his hand was healed! Jesus was angry over their misinterpretation and their legalizing the Word of God. The anger of Jesus was not a spiteful, revengeful passion, but a just indignation 5
Matthew 23:13-17 Jesus pronounces woes 13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. A hypocrite can block the way to heaven 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. (Their business dealings were crooked and heartless but they made long prayer) 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. (They were great going out witnessing but they were not getting anyone to Christ) 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (They would tithe plants, but they would forgo the things that would have brought people to Christ) 24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. (Made so much of the little things, and not of the big things) 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. (Church busy going thru ceremonies making every- thing so nice but they don t deal with sin) 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. (Cleaning the outside but not the inside) 6
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. (This is a picture of the average Christian) They are dead in trespasses and sin. Their church membership is null and void) 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (He is denouncing the religious leaders. The church has gone astray. If you have a bible teaching church and a bible teaching preacher, stand by him today. We need men to stand for the word of God. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, (Ye are the children of them that killed the prophets) 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? This is strong language. He calls them an offspring of vipers. He is letting them know that God doesn t claim you if you rejected Jesus Christ. Jesus was angry! Yes. Their interpretation of the law was so legalizing that it kept the people from trusting Him and obeying. Legalism is an attempt to gain favor with God or to impress our fellow man by doing certain things (or avoiding other things), without regard to the condition of our hearts before God. At the root of legalism is the sin of pride, because the legalist thinks that he is able to commend himself to God by his own good deeds. Invariably, he is only looking at externals, not at his heart. Also, the legalist s pride motivates him to exalt himself in the sight of others by his outward behavior, again neglecting to see the corruption of his own heart. Jesus hates legalism because it does not deal with the condition of our hearts before God. Matthew 21:13-14 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. All anger falls under two categories: Justified and Unjustified 7
How people usually handle their anger Some people are so angry they explode, they have a fit Like a boiling pot, a CROCK POT Their anger simmers and boils, everything get s cooked. This crock pot anger is cooking them. They think their anger is subdued but it s cooking them, their whole emotional being is destroyed. THEY WON T DEAL WITH THEIR ANGER!!! It s our personal responsibility to find out what makes us act the way we do If you have anger in your heart you are being poisoned daily. QUIZ Sinful Anger (Bad anger) 1. Is my anger directed toward a person? 2. Is my anger without a justifiable cause? 3. Does my anger seek to do harm to another person? (vengeance) 4. Is it anger that is cherished? They won t lay it down. 5. Have you developed an unforgiving spirit? Consequences of Anger Our relationship with God is not right. You can t be right with God and be angry at someone else. Our relationship with others will not be right Critical Spirit develops o God says anger resides in the bosom of a fool o Devastating and Ungodly Attitude o Un-Christ-like o Costly o Unhealthy You cannot live with anger and be a healthy person. (stress, heart attacks, high blood pressure, can lead to death) o Can destroy you Victory over Anger 8
Identify It o You must identify your anger if you are going to deal with it o What is the source of my anger? o Look back, what is it that I am angry about? Be willing to confess it o Ask yourself why am I angry? o Why am I still angry Clarify your feelings o What am I feeling? o Do I feel hurt? o Do I feel rejected? o Do I fear getting involved? o Do I have needs that are unmet? Letting Go How to handle anger It s very clear in scripture that God addresses anger Ephesians 4:29-32 (AMP) 29 Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak]. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin]. We must do what He says in Verse 29 so that Verse 30-31 won t occur. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor, perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence. 32 Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you. 9
Confess It Identify the source (where is it coming from). You can t deal with anger under your own power. Purposefully deal with it quickly. Take an emotional time out Stop and think (James 1:19 - Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,) Put it away (Ephesians 4:26-27 AMP) 26 BE ANGRY [at sin at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], YET DO NOT SIN; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down. 27 And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness]. Take it off - The Holy Spirit will enable you to say Lord I forgive them and I lay down my anger Replace it - Do something to get you out of that self destruct mode of anger Benefit from it - Lord help me, to be able to realize, that I am angry. If I m angry something is wrong. Prevent it from re-occurring again - Make a decision to purpose in your heart to respond to anger. Acknowledge It! Deal with it! Anger is a form of suicide - It is self-destructing. You kill yourself one day at a time God may love the sinner, but he is angry at sin. Anger is not sin, but it is apt to run into it: hence it is a dangerous passion. Righteous anger rises from the love of God and man, but that which rises from self-love is sinful. God s Anger (Righteous Indignation) is Anger toward those things that God would be angry about if He were in that situation. This is right anger. 10