Better Than Deserved

Welcome & Honor

HOOK: Intro

Today we continue our series on ‘Gifts From The Grave’

Recap of Gifts: Christ, Faith, Family

Today we are talking about Anger

What Is Anger?

Anger is a full body response to a perceived or real grievance.

Scripture speaks on anger

OT: God is angry ~177 times

NT: Jesus is angry ~3 times

Humanity is angry ~45 times

What does our anger look like? (Give examples of anger)

What should our anger look like?

As ascribed to God, it merely denotes his displeasure with sin and with sinners.

Psalm 7:11 “God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.”

Ephesians 4:1-3 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

“Anger says “I can destroy the whole world”. Peace says “Not when I work inside you”.”

Introduce Sermon title

Pray in forge sermon

BOOK: Main Scripture - Jonah 4

The account of the prophet Jonah running from an assignment

Jonah 4 ESV

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?” 5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Imagine being angry to DEATH!?

“Do you do well to be angry?”

LOOK: Sermon Core

Areas Anger Stems From

Pride (We Know Best) - Inordinate self-esteem; arrogance.

The Truth (Not Wanting To Accept It)

Lack of Empathy (Lack of Compassion) - Walk a mile in their shoes

Reaping What You Sow

“Do you do well to be angry?”

Galatians 6:7-8 “7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

Bitterness

Bitterness can become more present than God’s grace in your life

Sin

No love

Disobedience

God’s Judgment

Unforgiveness

Jesus teaches the disciples about the necessity of forgiving others (Mark 11:25–26). Without forgiveness, a person cannot be forgiven (Matt 6:14–15). Forgiving others is not a precondition for justification; it is simply an ever-present fruit of justification. True salvation always results in forgiveness of others.

Unfruitfulness

We are sowing seeds of death when we display unrighteous anger.

Unanswered

Many times we ask and we do not receive because God is not in the business of giving us what we want in the condition we are in.

How We Should Process Anger

“Do you do well to be angry?”

We process it as children of God.

James 1:19-20 “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

We process it through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

We process it by studying the word and applying it.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “ANGER is patient and kind; ANGER does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. ANGER does not insist on its own way; ANGER is not irritable or resentful; ANGER does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ANGER bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

We process it as co-heirs with Christ.

Romans 8:17 “17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

TOOK: Close

Better Than Deserved - The Gift of Forgiveness

Luke 23:34 “34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

“Do you do well to be angry?”

God withheld his anger and gave us His son.

He showed humility, gentleness, patience, love, and unity.

Choose to live by the example of Christ

He had the greatest reason among all living people to be angry, frustrated, disrespected, disgusted.

Recount the crucification of Christ

1 Peter 2:23 “23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

Ephesians 4:26-27, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” 32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”