CRCF\u201d\u201d5-24-09<\/p>\n
Questions of the Heart #4<\/p>\n
Introduction\u201d\u201dWe all know what anger is, and we\u201d\u2122ve all felt it.<\/p>\n
Anger has many different faces. And I don\u201d\u2122t know which of these two are funnier! (Angry Man and Angry Monkey slides). The truth is that when we\u201d\u2122re angry, we think about as reasonably as these chickens (Comic slide). <\/p>\n
\nBut anger itself isn\u201d\u2122t funny\u201d\u201dit\u201d\u2122s painful and dangerous! (Danger slide)<\/p>\n
John Piper: \u201cSome people have more anger than they think, because it has disguises. When willpower hinders rage, anger smolders beneath the surface, and the teeth of the soul grind with frustration. It can come out in tears that look more like hurt. But the heart has learned that this may be the only way to hurt back. It may come out as silence because we have resolved not to fight. It may show up in picky criticism and relentless correction. It may strike out at persons that have nothing to do with its origin. It will often feel warranted by the wrongness of the cause. After all, Jesus got angry (Mark 3:5), and Paul says, \u201cBe angry and do not sin\u201d (Ephesians 4:26). However, good anger among fallen people is rare . . . one of the greatest battles of life is the battle to \u201d\u02dcput away anger\u201d\u2122, not just control its expressions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we do with anger practically?\u201d<\/p>\n
3 Actions we all need to take:<\/p>\n
1.\tSlow Down Your Emotions & Tongue and Speed Up Your Ears and Mind.<\/p>\n
James 1:19-21\u201d\u201d \u201cDear friends, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Your anger can never make things right in God\u201d\u2122s sight.\u201d<\/p>\n
*Bite Your Tongue
\nProverbs 10:19\u201d\u201d\u201cDon\u201d\u2122t talk too much, for it fosters sin. Be sensible and turn off the flow!\u201d<\/p>\n
*Open Your Ears: Aim to Listen Longer<\/p>\n
*ReMind Yourself that your anger never brings
\nGod\u201d\u2122s desired outcome.<\/p>\n
You\u201d\u2122ve got to get your mind in the right gear to keep your emotions from going out of control!<\/p>\n
Colossians 3:8\u201d\u201c \u201cBut now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.\u201d<\/p>\n
1 Timothy 2:8\u201d\u201c \u201cSo wherever you assemble, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.\u201d
\n1 Timothy 2:8 from The Message: \u201cSince prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray\u201d\u201dnot shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God.\u201d
\nSlow down your emotions & tongue and speed up your ears and mind.<\/p>\n
2.\tBe Committed to Deal with Your Anger Today, if at all possible.<\/p>\n
Ephesians 4:26-27\u201d\u201c \u201cAnd \u201d\u02dcdon\u201d\u2122t sin by letting anger gain control over you.\u201d\u2122 Don\u201d\u2122t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.\u201d<\/p>\n
Individually\u201d\u201dYou leave your heart open for other sin that spring from the selfishness of not dealing with your anger.<\/p>\n
Corporately:
\nNGSB: \u201cBecause practical unity among believers displays God\u201d\u2122s reconciling power (vv. 1-10, 2:14-16), the devil especially prizes its disruption\u201d (1868).<\/p>\n
If not, you give away \u201cground\u201d to the Enemy!<\/p>\n
3.\tTake Your Anger to the Cross and Exchange it for Forgiveness.<\/p>\n
Ephesians 4:29-5:2\u201d\u201c \u201cDon\u201d\u2122t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God\u201d\u2122s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Follow God\u201d\u2122s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is no more practical way to deal with anger than to take a trip to the Cross!<\/p>\n
Nothing else addresses the root of anger in our hearts!
\nThat root is PRIDE\/SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS!<\/p>\n
Piper: \u201cMost of our bitterness and anger towards others is rooted in an inability to be profoundly amazed at Christ\u201d\u2122s love for us in our sin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew 7:3-5\u201d\u201d\u201cAnd why worry about a speck in your friend\u201d\u2122s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, \u201d\u02dcFriend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye\u201d\u2122 when you can\u201d\u2122t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend\u201d\u2122s eye?\u201d<\/p>\n
Simone Weil: \u201cI also am other than what I imagine myself to be. To know this is forgiveness\u201d (Yancey, 104).
\n\u201c . . . be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you\u201d (Ephesians 4:32).<\/p>\n
Yancey: \u201cOnly the experience of being forgiven makes it possible for us to forgive . . . Only by living in the stream of God\u201d\u2122s grace will I find the strength to respond with grace toward others.\u201d (What\u201d\u2122s So Amazing About Grace?, 90, 93).<\/p>\n
READ Matthew 5:21-26; 6:14-15<\/p>\n
George Herbert: \u201cHe who cannot forgive another breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesus: \u201cFather, forgive these people, because they don\u201d\u2122t know what they are doing\u201d (Luke 23:34).<\/p>\n
Yancey: Jesus\u201d\u201d\u201cNotably, he forgave those who had not repented: \u201d\u02dcfor they do not know what they are doing\u201d\u2122\u201d (119).<\/p>\n
Take your anger to the Cross and exchange it for forgiveness. There is no more practical way to deal with anger than to take a trip to the Cross!<\/p>\n
Conclusion\u201d\u201dHenri Nouwen defines forgiveness as \u201clove practiced among people who love poorly\u201d (Yancey, 92).<\/p>\n
And yet, God will give us the strength to exchange anger for forgiveness!<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter Wink tells of two peacemakers who visited a group of Polish Christians ten years after the end of World War II. \u201d\u02dcWould you be willing to meet with other Christians from West Germany?\u201d\u2122 the peacemakers asked. \u201d\u02dcThey want to ask forgiveness for what Germany did to Poland during the war and to begin to build a new relationship.\u201d\u2122 At first there was silence. Then one Pole spoke up. \u201d\u02dcWhat you are asking is impossible. Each stone of Warsaw is soaked in Polish blood! We cannot forgive!\u201d\u2122 Before the group parted, however, they said the Lord\u201d\u2122s Prayer together. When they reached the words \u201d\u02dcforgive us our sins as we forgive . . .,\u201d\u2122 everyone stopped praying. Tension swelled in the room. The Pole who had spoken so vehemently said, \u201d\u02dcI must say yes to you. I could no more pray the Our Father, I could no longer call myself a Christian, if I refuse to forgive. Humanly speaking, I cannot do it, but God will give us his strength!\u201d\u2122 Eighteen months later the Polish and West German Christians met together in Vienna, establishing friendships that continue to this day\u201d (Yancey, 123).<\/p>\n
Slow Down Your Emotions & Tongue and Speed Up Your Ears and Mind.<\/p>\n
Be Committed to Deal with Your Anger Today, if at all possible.<\/p>\n
Take Your Anger to the Cross and Exchange it for Forgiveness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CRCF\u201d\u201d5-24-09 Questions of the Heart #4 Introduction\u201d\u201dWe all know what anger is, and we\u201d\u2122ve all felt it. Anger has many different faces. And I don\u201d\u2122t know which of these two are funnier! (Angry Man and Angry Monkey slides). The truth … Continue reading