W H2H: Catastrophic Engine Failure

Intro

whats your dream car?

I just traded in for an old truck

it takes some work to make sure it will keep running

most people won’t keep a vehicle past 150000 miles

if you want it to keep running for another 150000, you have to fix and maintain the internal things

washing the car and cleaning the interior and installing a new stereo and headlights isn’t going to stop a misfire or a gear slip or loose breaks

the same is true for our lives as Christians and especially when dealing with the topic we are discussing today

its one thing to put on a show on the outside that lasts a moment, but if I want to take real preventative measures for my faith and if I want to really solve the conflicts in my life

Sermon on the Mount

the first of the antitheses

it is not that the law was wrong or incomplete, but that the people had missed the point of what it was supposed to bring about

its easy to twist laws for your own wants and whims

the one who is angry or simply insults another person

whats the point of being so harsh about simply saying something to someone?

why is this more important than even finishing offering a gift for propitiation?

Jesus wants unity and not division

he wants people to be drawn closer to God and not be pushed farther away for the sake of unnecessary conflict

he also knows that most conflict in our lives that comes from our own anger can easily be avoided or stopped by one who is urgent about resolving it

Clearing the Temple

before we get two deep, we ought to acknowledge that conflict and even anger have their place

so long as neither lead to sin AND are not being done simply for the sake of being angry or starting something, they are fine

Jesus in John 2

he is angry and rightly so and he doesn’t hold it in or let that stop him

the people in this scene are disrespecting the place that is meant to represent the residence of God himself

they’ve turned a place of awe and reverence into a place of greed and monotony

how do you feel when you go to Walmart vs when you are taking communion?

God did not give us emotions so that we could spend our entire lives repressing some of them

everything given has a place and a purpose

it is up to us to find that and use it in the correct context as Jesus does here

The Heart of the Issue

back to the main thought in the sermon on the mount

with all of that being said, it is tempting to be angry for all of the wrong reasons

what are some things you find yourselves angry about on a regular basis?

did you need to be angry about that? what purpose did that serve? what good did that conflict bring about?

James 416

Ephe 4

there is a lot of anger in the world around us

you may get older and get caught up in politics or you may already be at this point in your lives

the truth is, it breeds a lot of conflict that doesn’t pass our test from earlier

Application

what to do about it

we took the time to study good conflict and bad conflict

for you to take home, here is the test to determine whether what you are angry about is worth seeing through

Take a deep breath

Take the time to ask myself those few questions

Does my anger help or hurt this situation?

Does this conflict serve any purpose?

Could I create more unity in the body by not being angry or by ending this conflict?

Is my anger stopping me from doing the good I know I should be doing?

and if you’re still angry after you’ve thought about it that much, then you might have reason enough to be

odds are though, whatever you were angry about has passed by the time you’ve thought that much about it

If you have an ongoing conflict, pray about it and don’t be afraid to ask for the advice of others about what the best resolution is