WHEN ANGER LEADS TO ACTIONS THERE TENDS TO BE NEGATIVE REPERCUSSIONS
And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for
You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. Matthew 5:21-22 NLT
ANGER AND INSULTS ARE AN UGLY SYMPTOMS OF A DESIRE TO GET RID OF SOMEONE WHO STANDS IN OUR WAY. - JOHN STOTT
'What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ' James 4:1-2 NIV
So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny. Matthew 5:23-26 NLT
JESUS’ TWO EXAMPLES
1. BROTHERS
2. ENEMIES
NOT BEING CONTROLLED BY ANGER
1. ANGER IS NOT THE PROBLEM, BUT OUR RESPONSE CAN BE.
"What such a man needs is not courage but nerve control, cool-headedness. This he can get only by practice.” -Theodore Roosevelt
'Short-tempered people do foolish things… Proverbs 14:17 NLT
'Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.' Proverbs 29:11 NLT
'When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. ' Psalms 32:3
Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Hebrews 12:15 NLT
2. EXAMINE YOUR PRIORITIES
'From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. ' Matthew 16:21-25 NLT
'My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ' Galatians 2:20 NLT
take up your cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23 NLT
“A MAN ON HIS FACE CAN NEVER FALL DOWN” - LARRY STOCKSTILL
'Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. ' Galatians 5:24 NLT
'We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. ' Romans 6:6-7 NLT
“Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.” Richard Nixon
3. A UNIFIED CHURCH IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE
'For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.' Ephesians 6:12 NLT
'Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.' Matthew 16:18-19 NLT
As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. ' Galatians 6:14 NLT