Showdown in a Vineyard

Text: I Kings 21

Gainesville GA 2013

Michael Carreiro was shot and killed by his neighbor on March 31 in a property line dispute, Alachua County sheriff's deputies have said.

Smith was spraying herbicide on some poison ivy along the edge of the drive, a Sheriff's Office report said, when he heard Carreiro's truck coming down the road. Smith, of 5425 NW 69th Drive, and Carreiro, of 5725 NW 69th Drive, reportedly argued about Smith's efforts to maintain the easement along a road the neighbors had split up and shared.

August 15, 2016

A broken lawn mower and the offer of a hamburger escalated a dispute between northeast Minneapolis neighbors that ended when one was fatally shot in the chest, neighbors and authorities said Thursday.

Friends and relatives of Bruce Wayne Brown say that the dispute over the mower he had allegedly damaged after borrowing it from Edward Holzinger was the furthest thing from his mind as he fired up his backyard grill and began cooking hamburgers for family members visiting from out of town Tuesday night. But a short time later, Brown, 47, was dead.

These kind of stories leave us asking what is going on.

Retell the story:

Ahab bought a lie about reaction that some buy here tonight. The attitude that Ahab shows betrays his real problems.

Our Feelings are Justified (2)

My Purposes - garden

My Reasoning - near

My justification

Better vineyard

Cash (grass isn’t always greener)

The sale of this property would have been illegal. (Lev 25:23; Num 36:7)

If it was sold to meet a need it had to be held so that it could be redeemed at anytime.

At Jubilee it would comeback automatically Lev 25:28

Our Opposition are personal (4)

He didn’t have any angry outburst. It is no less an issue of anger.

“his sulky and pettish demeanor betrays a spirit of selfishness that could not brook to be disappointed of a favorite object, and would have pushed him to lawless tyranny had he possessed any natural force of character.”

Sadness

Displeased

Turned his face away - not of natural sorrow rather it is manipulation. It is the cold shoulder treatment. A treatment that many wives represented here have felt. No you don’t punch holes in the wall but you will feel no remorse for having completely cut her out.

One day a lady in a brand new Volvo had been driving round a crowded car park, had finally found a spot and was just about to back into it when a young P plater in a hotted up Torana whizzed into the spot before her. As the Torana driver got out of his car and was walking away the lady in the Volvo called out “I found that spot first. What gives you the right to push in and take it?” The young man laughed and said “Because I’m young and quick” and kept on walking. All of sudden he heard the hideous sound of a car being heartily smashed. He turned around to see the lady in the Volvo repeatedly ramming her car into his. She caught his eye and said “That’s because I’m old and rich!”

Our Reactions are Licensed (7)

By Position (7)

“I’m the dad, I’m the pastor, I’m the ______”

By Faine Honor

The letters from Jezebel commanded a fast of the sin of blasphemy. They would show their religious dedication to the One true God by prayerfully sanctifying themselves in prayer and fasting. - Baloney

“I’ve served Here ______ years”, “I’ve taught this class for ____ years”

Anger is not meant to be a long term contract.

Explosive and Frozen these are habitual forms of Anger that manifest themselves in men regularly.

Explosive

James 1:19-20 - Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Frozen

In fact clamming up is often what leads to blowing up! The pressure builds till finally we lash out with cruelty and malice. When we learn to deal with anger properly, we can avoid both clamming up and blowing up.

Note that both kinds of anger tend to become habit. We practice them so often that they become ingrained in our character and very difficult to overcome. This leads to our next point.

[Matt. 5:21-24; 1 Cor. 13:5]

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Ephesians 4:26

Anger is not meant to be a weapon.

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 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.

Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking Transformed by Thorns, p. 117

I don’t believe in being nice. I do't tell my boys to be nice. I teach them to be Kind. There is a difference.

NICE

pleasant; agreeable; satisfactory.

"we had a nice time"

synonyms:

enjoyable, pleasant, agreeable, good, satisfying, gratifying

KIND

having or showing a friendly, generous, and considerate nature.

"she was a good, kind woman"

synonyms:

kindly, good-natured, kindhearted, warmhearted, caring, affectionate, loving, warm; More

What’s the Big difference I’ll tell you.

Initiation - kindness is initiated, nice is passive. It is ok for girls to be nice. Boys initiate, they start, they pursue. They cannot let stuff come at them they must preemptively approach with kindness.

Jesus never commands nicety he commands kindness. This is why sometime the appropriate response was for Jesus to tear the decorations of the Temple wall and make a whip. John 2:13-17 The real issue is found in verse 17 where it says, “It is written.” The man Jesus, was all about protecting the word & workings of God.” Do you know this is the call of a man? To be on guard at all times.

Jesus was not above pointing out sin and sinners. He backed down from none. For the sake of time, let’s consider one example. In Matthew 22, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other leaders (in other words, the entire ministerial association) are attempting to test, try and trap Jesus with questions of “doctrine.” After answering their questions, we read His response in chapter 23. He calls repeatedly calls them hypocrites, blind fools, snakes, vipers, and the like. Truthfully, if we study and get inside the emotion of Jesus at this point, we might say, “HE wasn’t even acting ‘Christian’”.

To Jesus aggression, anger, and stability are not a man thing they are a tool to be used by men to do a work.

Anger is not meant to replace Godliness.

The prefect use of anger is not as common as we might wish.

A person who is angry on the right grounds, against the right persons, in the right manner, at the right moment, and for the right length of time deserves great praise. Bits & Pieces, May 27, 1993, p. 1.

Some psychologists encourage people to "vent" their anger. If husbands or wives become angry, they are supposed to say whatever they think, because it "gets it out of the system" or "releases tension." They tell us to allow even little children to throw tantrums, scream, and call parents nasty names.

If we were honest there are very few times that anger toward others is warranted. If you will allow me the room to say that I don’t think any of my anger towards my children or wife has ever been ok.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Eph 4:31-32

For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. James 1:20

Much of the motivation for anger is motived

By Selfishness

By Fear

By Habit

These are all meant to be handled through the Christ focused life that has seen the flesh crucified and Christ seated on the throne of the heart.

Die to Self

Identify the Irritation

Deliver it to the Savior

Don't let anger cost you your home or ministry.

Our Outcomes are Proof

Whoever says,

“All’s well that ends well”

never been a victim of that ideology

Anger makes enemies from disappointments.

Anger makes enemies from accountability

Just incase you thought Ahab was the innocent and Jezebel the aggressor. - Ahab is the guilty one (vs. 20)

What is amazing is that it doesnt’ turn out well. He will have his name wiped out because of this sin.

Mercy is our Antidote

In a beautiful demonstration of grace. Ahab represents and we watch as God gives to him the mercy that he never showed to Naboth. And allows him to turn away from His sin.

The most angry, manipulative man can repent.