Wrath
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INTRO
Anger is a very powerful emotion !!
Ares = greek god of war and battle lust
Skanda = hindu god of anger and war - leaper or attacker
Dude Perfect = Rage monster
Marvel Universe
Punisher
Wolverine
Hulk…
The Incredible Hulk = Bruce Banner - “You won’t like me when I’m angry”
No one likes you when your angry !!
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 98 High Cost of Anger
Anger weakens a man. It puts him at a disadvantage in every undertaking in life. When Sinbad and his sailors landed on one of their tropical islands, they saw high up in the trees coconuts which could quench their thirst and satisfy their hunger. The coconuts were far above the reach of Sinbad and the sailors, but in the branches of the trees were the chattering apes. Sinbad and his men began to throw stones and sticks up at the apes. This enraged the monkeys and they began to seize the coconuts and hurl them down at the men on the ground. That was just what Sinbad and his men wanted. They got the apes angry so that the apes would gather their food for them. That is a good illustration of how by indulgence in anger we play into the hands of our foes.
—C. E. Macartney
MESSAGE
Righteous Anger
Righteous Anger
God expresses righteous anger against sin
13 And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.
8 Even at Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.
God is Holy and cannot stand Sin
Do you remember the story of Moses and the people of Israel in the wilderness when they made the golden calf?
Even in our fallen sinful state our hearts cry out against the conduct of Israel… Imagine then the Holiness of God!!
Jesus expressed righteous anger
5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
Jesus cares more about people then policy
These who are supposed to be the religious elite cared more about ceremony than sickness
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
Jesus cares more about your spiritual life then your religious duties
Sacrifice your hearts not your salaries
Right relationship not religion
You can express righteous anger
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Sin should make us angry
Our hearts cry for truth / justice / goodness / righteousness
We have a God shaped hole in our hearts !!
Anger against the sin and not the sinner
Anger on behalf of God and not self… for who are we
Righteous Anger = a heart that is consumed by the holiness of God and right worship of Him for His glory
Sinful Anger
Sinful Anger
Anger is listed as sin
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Anger is hated by God
11 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.
Most of the time we have no cause for anger
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
often we are angry because of our selfishness
Anger is a loss of self control
Scripture calls it a messenger of death = Pro 16.14 “14 A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will appease it.”
Jesus makes it equal with murder = Matt 5.22 “22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Anger just makes the situation worse
People who fly into a rage will always make a bad landing - Will Rogers
An angry man is again angry with himself when he returns to reason - Publicius Syrus
A good thing to remember is that you cant save face when you lose your head - Wash Longview
No-one ever looks back at a situation and says, if only I had been a little angrier !!
Anger is bondage to our souls
Job 36:8–13 “8 And if they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction, 9 then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly. 10 He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity. 11 If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness. 12 But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge. 13 “The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them.”
It traps us and brings us to our own death!
We are not to associate with angry people
24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
19 It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
Their anger will be turned on you
You will be tempted by their anger
You will be harmed by the blows meant for them
Where words abound sin will increase
Responding to Anger
Responding to Anger
Process slower
18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man holds it in check.
Practicing gentle responses
1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.
James 1.19-26 “19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”
Ephesians 3:14–21 “14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Think before you speak, and when you speak do so in a way that will bring honor to God and grace to the hearer!
Pray that God would prevent anger in your heart and protect you from temptations
Pray that God would work in your heart to give you this grace
Deal with it
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Matthew 5:23–26 “23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”
We can be assured that God will help us when we ask for help
We can be assured that in Christ we can deal with situations without succumbing to sinful anger
CLOSE
Practical Steps
Practical Steps
Evaluate and write down the kind of situations that push you toward anger. Then seek biblical solutions to help. Seek mature, godly accountability to help you.
decide ahead of time to respond in a godly way
Do not attempt to reason with someone when he or she is angry. Wait until you both can communicate with reason.
Every time you begin to become angry confess your anger to God (and others you have affected), redirect your energy toward a solution to the problem.
Confession and Repentance go hand and hand with our sanctification process
Write James 1:19–20 “19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” on a card. Memorize the passage and keep it close at hand.
Though God has every right to express His wrath, He demonstrates His compassion and mercy to Israel—and to us.
Application Point: We must learn to mirror God’s mercy, grace, and justice instead of responding in our own anger.
Don’t let anger make a monkey out of you!
GROUP QUESTIONS
Share a time when being angry made a monkey out of you?
What issues in the world make you righteously angry?
How should we practice righteous anger?
Where do you struggle most in sinful anger?
How do we sometimes have righteous anger that comes out sinfully?
Why does God emphasize his compassion when he could easily carry out his wrath against Israel?
Why should we not take His grace for granted? What might it look like to do that?
Do you think God’s compassion ever runs out? Why or why not?
Is there anyone to whom you should show mercy instead of anger?
Is there anyone to whom you owe an apology for reacting in sinful anger? Who is that? What happened? When will you seek amends with them?
How should God’s mercy toward us impact the way we live our lives?
How should we balance righteous anger and living out Gods grace toward others?
How can we pray for you?