A Remedy for Anger: The Practice of Patience Sermon Series: A Look at the Seven Deadly Sins Numbers 22:21-34 Rev. Michael D. Halley October 2 9, 2017 Suffolk Christian Church Suffol k, Virginia Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Seven Deadly Sins are pride envy anger sloth (laziness) greed gluttony, and lust This list had its origin in the early fathers of the church. You will also find in the Bible, in Proverbs 6:16-19 1, and in Galatians 5:19 21 2, similar lists of sins that God especially hates. So, we are taking a few Sundays to look at this traditional list of sins and how we can deal with them and overcome them in our lives. Today we look at anger. What is anger? The dictionary 3 says a strong feeling of displeasure. That s a rather mild definition, wouldn t you say? But listen to these synonyms for anger: aggravation, annoyance, exasperation, irritation, vexation, animosity, antagonism, bitterness, contempt, hostility, rancor, resentment, malice, spite, venom, vindictiveness, contentiousness, crankiness, hot-headedness, and irritability. And I left most of the synonyms off this list!
Page -2- Look them up sometime. Frightening. Truly frightening. And this story of Balaam and his donkey highlights the evil effects of anger. Another great story! Briefly, a little background. Balak was the king of Moab, a land lying just east of the Dead Sea. Balak was very frightened of the Israelites, especially after he learned of their great victory over the Amorites. So, he decided that a nice curse on Israel would help protect him and his nation. That s where Balaam comes in. Balaam was known as a diviner, a man who had the gift of prophesy. So King Balak sent a delegation to him to ask that he come and put a curse on the Israelites. This delegation came with a very nice gift of money for Balaam, by the way. God, however, would have none of it and forbid Balaak to go and put the curse on. But King Balak was determined. So he sent another delegation, this time much more important people, more impressive, higher ranking, and more powerful. Plus, the monetary gift was greatly increased. This time God relented and told Balaam: Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you. Along the way, though, things turned sour. God got angry with Balaam and put an angel with a sword in the path of the donkey he was riding. What happened? Why did God get angry with Balaam? We can only speculate. Maybe God saw that Balaam was a bit too eager to go and please this king of Moab. Maybe God saw that Balaam was a bit too eager to profit financially from this curse he was going to put on the Israelites. Whatever the reason, God was blocking the way.
Page -3- However, only the donkey could see the angel. And when the donkey stepped off the road, Balaam whipped her. Next, the donkey walked too close to a wall and crushed Balaam s foot. Again, he beat her. The third time, she just sat down in the road and refused to get up. Another whipping. By now, God had enough and let Madame Donkey speak for herself: What have I ever done to you that you should beat me these three times? Am I not your trusty donkey and have I never done anything like this, ever? And then Balaam s eyes were opened and he, too, saw the angel with the sword. Anger. Making decisions and taking actions without knowing all the facts. Taking out your rage on a poor defenseless animal. Disgusting, isn t it? How many talking animals do you know? Well, growing up I knew of two: Mr. Ed and Francis the talking mule. Then came Shrek s donkey. But probably Balaam s donkey is the best of all. How many of you remember this television line: Don t make me angry. You wouldn t like me when I m angry? Of course. It is from the television show The Incredible Hulk 4. Bill Bixby played the character David Banner, who would transform into a giant, dangerous green hulk, played by Lou Ferrigno. That show made for good entertainment for many people, but it also revealed a very dark side of humanity. Consider this: For some people, there are two personalities inside, one that s nice and sweet and normal. All of a sudden you touch a button, say the wrong thing, hit that trigger, and the Hulk side of them comes out. For some of us, we thought we were interacting with David Banner, and then the next day the Hulk came out. Some have stood at the altar, thinking they were
Page -4- marrying a David Banner type, and after the honeymoon the Hulk came out. Some had thought they were working for someone like David Banner, but then if a project is not done right, the Hulk comes out. 5 One commentator wrote, Of the 7 deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel [of] both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back--in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you. 6 Scary, isn t it? I am not an expert on anger control by any means, but I do have a few suggestions 7 about how we can deal with our anger that sometimes gets out of control. First, take a good look at the anger. Where is it coming from? What is so important about this situation in which we are angry? Is it really important enough to rise to the level of rage? And, we should ask ourselves, Is it worth it? Is it worth hurting someone with my anger? Second, after looking at the anger, you may realize that your anger has risen to the level of sin. If so, then we must feel sorrow for our sin. We must be willing to confess our sin and deeply feel the sorrow of it. Jesus has paid the price for all of our sins; He bore the wrath we deserved, and he freed us from sin s guilt. Thanks be to God! Third, remember the love of Jesus. We are strengthened by the Holy Spirit so that we can know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love (Ephesians
Page -5-3:17, ERV 8 ). When we love our Lord Jesus more than anything else, we grow in not becoming angry when we shouldn t be angry. The story is told of a lady who came to the well-known evangelist Billy Sunday and tried to rationalize her angry outbursts. She said, There nothing wrong with losing my temper. I blow up, and then it s all over. So does a shotgun, Mr. Sunday replied, and look at the damage it leaves behind! 9 What is sin? It is missing the mark. It is failing to please God. It is living your life in accordance with your decisions and your control and not God s. Sin is disobeying God. Thanks to God there is a remedy for this condition we are all in. It is the extravagant grace of God, demonstrated in the sacrifice of His Son Jesus. Listen to how Eugene Peterson renders this passage from John s Gospel: This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. 10 Open your heart to God s love. Believe in God s promise to lift you up. Let us pray together: Our heavenly Father, we confess to you that we fall short of Your glory and righteousness. In Your compassionate grace lift us up, forgive us of our
Page -6- sins and set us on the right path. Save us, O God, from our anger, and may Your Holy Spirit teach us daily the things of Christ, that we may be channels of Your glory and righteousness. Amen. Amen. +==+==+==+==+==+==+ All Scripture references are from New International Version, NIV, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, by Biblica, Inc., unless otherwise indicated. +==+==+==+==+==+==+ Sunday Sermons from Suffolk Christian Church are intended for the private devotional use of members and friends of the church. Please do not print or publish. Thank you. Suggestions for sermon topics are always welcome! 1. The sins listed are: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. 2. The sins listed are: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. 3. Merriam-Webster, www.m-w.com. 4. See The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series), at www.wikipedia.com 5. This paragraph was adapted from a sermon, Why Are You So Angry?, by David A. Anderson, http://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/2010/july/whyareyousoangry.html.
6. Quoted from Wishful Thinking Transformed by Thorns, p. 117, by Frederick Buechnerp. 117. Found at Anger, www.sermonillustrations.com. 7. Theses suggestions are gleaned from the article, What Our Anger is Telling Us, written by Pastor Jonathan Parnell, posted on May 14, 2012, at www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-our-anger-is-telling-us. 8. Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), copyright 2006 by Bible League International 9. From Anger, www.sermonillustrations.com. 10. The Message (MSG), copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson Page -7-