Lord of My Anger
Pastor Chad A. Miller
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 32:03
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· 16 viewsIt is rarely good to be angry. Whether justified or not, surrendering our anger to the Lord is the best way to keep wicked people from getting under our skin. The alternatives set us on a path to acting like them...and offending the Lord! We trade our anger for meekness as we are being made new.
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REFLECTION:
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
SERMON TEXT
Of David. 1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! 2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. 12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. 14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; 15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. 18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance. 20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. 21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; 22 for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; 24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. 27 Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. 28 For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever. 30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip. 32 The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. 33 The Lord will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. 34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off. 35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. 36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. 37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
God is calling His Church to steward this moment well!
There is a lot to be ANGRY ABOUT THESE DAYS!
We look around and find no shortage of images and instances to get infuriated about!
The question is…the question David is wrestling with here in Psalm 37, is:
HOW CAN I STEWARD THIS ANGER WELL?
HOW DO I KEEP FROM SPIRALING?
HOW CAN I BE ANGRY AND GLORIFY GOD?
It’s likely tougher…and simpler than you think!
Whether on the Mountaintop of Victory or in the Valley of Defeat, God’s call to us is always to glorify HIM and point others to HIM!
HEADLINE: The age of rage: are we really living in angrier times?
Subtext: Flash point: as a society, we seem not to express anger and move on, but to stew in it – until, at the extremes, it hardens into violence and hate.
Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot / That it do singe yourself. - William Shakespeare
Mr. Potato head packed his “angry eyes”
‘We should lock the door and scream that curse word we know. It’s a good one!’ – Anger (Inside Out)
The American Psychological Association defines Anger as:
Anger is an emotion characterized by antagonism toward someone or something you feel has deliberately done you wrong.
Anger can be a good thing. It can give you a way to express negative feelings, for example, or motivate you to find solutions to problems.
But excessive anger can cause problems. Increased blood pressure and other physical changes associated with anger make it difficult to think straight and harm your physical and mental health.
ANGER
ANGER
Though anger can often be justified, often it is jealousy, pride, or even a rebellion against the truth that moves us toward anger. We often judge others by a law and a standard that we can’t keep - and often give ourselves a “pass” for!
There was never an angry man that thought his anger unjust. - Francis de Sales
QUESTION: What are some of the lessons we learn from God’s WORD
ANGER RESULTS IN...
ANGER RESULTS IN...
Strife
8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
Also 1 Sa 20:30; Ps 124:2–3; Pr 29:22; Pr 30:33
God’s Judgment
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.
Also, Gen 49:5-7
Sin
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Also: Ps 4:4, Pr 14:17; 2 Co 12:20; Eph 4:26
Dealing with anger
Dealing with anger
Becoming slow to anger
5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
See also Ec 7:9; Tt 1:7; Jas 1:19
Not taking revenge
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Renouncing anger
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
See also Ps 37:8; Col 3:8; 1 Ti 2:8
Mental Health America:
Anger often moves us to action...We might defend ourselves, leave a bad situation, or help someone else...
However, too much anger can be toxic. It can control us and damage our relationships, physical health, work, and daily experience. Experiencing anger all the time is exhausting for us and challenging –or even scary for the people around us.
TRANSITION
It is rarely good to be angry.
It’s never good to stew in anger!
Whether justified or not, surrendering our anger to the Lord is the best way to keep wicked people from getting under our skin. The Bible gives us an alternative COUNTER-CULTURAL PATH to avoid mimicking the wicked...and offending the Lord!
A note about Psalm 37
This Psalm is classified as a Wisdom - contains a number of proverbs that could stand alone. It is also an acrostic poem; it has twenty-two units that begin with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order.
Much of our time will center on the first several verses which, I believe, point us to the task of surrendering our anger and envy to the LORD!
That means - I’d like for you to read, study, and meditate on this Psalm this week.
SO, HOW DO WE STEWARD THIS MOMENT…OUR ANGER WELL?
1. FOCUS
1. FOCUS
Look to God (3-9)
TRUST
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
DELIGHT
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
COMMIT
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
BE STILL
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
vv 8-9
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
Why do we refrain from anger? “Fret not yourself” could also be rendered don’t get too heated up - don’t get all hot and bothered!
22 A man of wrath stirs up strife,
and one given to anger causes much transgression.
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
WE LOOK TO GOD!
We TRUST Him, DELIGHT in Him, COMMIT our ways (even our anger) to HIM (He can handle it), we BE STILL before Him.
Our goal is the WALK IN THE SPIRIT, to HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST as we think through these matters, to be SLOW TO SPEAK…and to speak in such a manner that it is evident that WE HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS (Not Fox, Not MSNBC, Not a qualified-justice movement, not the zeitgeist of the age…not our political echo chambers…NO!)
2. REMEMBER
2. REMEMBER
The Justice of God and the end of the wicked (10-22)
The wicked here are seen functioning on self-trust…they are ravaging all they can to build their lives on their strength and self-reliance!
It may seem as though justice has been delayed, Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Gen 18:25)
4 “The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he.
3 Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert the right?
10 “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:
far be it from God that he should do wickedness,
and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
4 Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Remember, God is on the throne, He is not threatened!
We don’t OVERCOME this clear and present darkness with our own finite and flawed sense of vengeance:
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
31 Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,
With the perceived “pass” that the wicked are getting…we are reminded that they will perish, they will vanish like smoke (v20)
3. BELIEVE
3. BELIEVE
Believe that God will sustain His people (23-29)
our steps are established
our falls aren’t fatal
our lives are held in His hand
we are never forsaken
we are a blessing at all levels of socio / economic / ethnolinguistic / people groups
we are preserved forever
we have an inheritance that will never fade!
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.
Just a quick challenge here to the parent. Will you trust God with your children?
This speaks to one of the ways we are especially vulnerable. Many of us would trust God through all sorts of pain and hardship. But we worry about our children. We wonder, will God take care of them?
If you want to fight the temptation of being envious of the wicked, or stewing in anger at this broken world - you need to believe that God is a good, good Father!
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
4. REST
4. REST
Trust the LORD to Defend You and Fight Your Battles (30-34)
“This is how I fight my battles
It may look like I’m surrounded
But I’m surrounded by you!”
The same God that said He would never leave you
is the LORD who knows how to rescue the godly from trials…(2 Pet 2.9)
is the LORD who said to Israel in the day of battle, “ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.” (2 Chron 20:15)
is the LORD who was with the Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace,
is the LORD who stepped out on the edge of the boat one day and said peace, be still to the raging winds and waves that were about to do in the disciples
is the one John saw in Revelation as a Lamb standing as though He had been slain, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the root of David, described by one of the Elders as the ONLY ONE WHO HAS CONQUERED and was worthy to open the SCROLL that no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open or look into.
This is our KING! Our Valiant, Triumphant, Resurrected KING! HE’S GOT THIS!
He can conquer His foes and HE CAN VANQUISH YOUR ANGER before it festers and spirals into all manner of SIN!
REST! Take comfort in the fact that HE CAN HANDLE IT!
Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
5. REFLECT!
5. REFLECT!
Reflect on what God has done, and will do according to His Word. (35-40)
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
Hallelujah! Salvation and glory belong to our GOD!
SALVATION IS FROM THE LORD!
HELP IS FROM THE LORD!
He will HELP and DELIVER us!
He will DELIVER and SAVE us!
WE TAKE OUR REFUGE IN HIM!
CONCLUSION:
Dealing with our anger is not found in manipulating circumstances or trying to control the conversation or people around us to shut down difficult moments that threaten our ambitions or secret sins…we quietly look to God - we surrender our anger to His Lordship and say yes to His Word as His Holy Spirit sorts out our lives!
As we see injustice and suffering, we must remember that as we follow Jesus, the way to glory is often down the gravel road of suffering!
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
While we are heartbroken by the needs and suffering around us, we recognize that our sin, our guilt, our shame landed on the Lord Jesus Christ as he was crucified on the cross. The wrath of God poured out on Him for our sake. His substitutionary agonizing death on the cross and resurrection from the grave 3 days later brings hope to the darkest valleys.
BECAUSE HE HAS CONQUERED DEATH, HELL, AND THE GRAVE
I KNOW THAT I CAN STEWARD THIS ANGER WELL…as I take it to Jesus.
I CAN KEEP FROM SPIRALING - I focus on Him not my anger.
I CAN BE ANGRY AND GLORIFY GOD - if I refuse to STEW, and choose to TRUST HIM, DELIGHT IN HIM, COMMIT TO HIM, AND QUIET MY OWN AGENDA TO BOW BEFORE HIS THRONE.
It’s the same way we come to JESUS!