Adapted from the series by David Jeremiah

GIANTS SLAYING THE Adapted from the series by David Jeremiah

ANGER SLAYING

Ephesians 4:25-32 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Ephesians 4:25-32 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Series Outline • What is it? • What does it do to me? • How do I kill it?

Secret Weapon Recap • Fear • Love • Discouragement • Humility • Loneliness • Introspection • Guilt • Acceptance • Worry • Shame • Temptation • Cowardice • Anger • Burning

Khaaaaaaaaaaaan! How many of our movies are centered around the theme of rage and retribution? How many of our superheroes draw their strength or are otherwise enhanced by rage? It’s everywhere! It’s “admirable.” It’s “natural.”

What is it? • It’s a mistake to equate anger and rage as one in the same. • As with most giants, Anger is a gateway to many destructive manifestations. • Anger runs in two modes: • Hot • Cold • Anger is the act of losing control in response to not having it to begin with.

What is it? • The Bible discusses two types of anger. • One is righteous. • One is sin. • Today, we try to figure out how to identify which is which. • Not only do we want to avoid unrighteous anger, but we can in fact sin if we fail to practice righteous anger appropriately.

Righteous Anger • Verse 26: “Be angry, and do not sin.” • Paul confirms that a Christian can (and should?) be angry *and* needs to be wary of it wandering into sin. • This is not permission or encouragement to “vent” with some illusion of control. • In Matthew 5:22, Jesus tells us that if we are so much as angry with our brother, it is equivalent to committing murder.

John 2:14-15 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables.

Righteous Anger • Jesus’ two-fold anger: • Profiteering in His temple. • Displacement of devout Gentiles. • Threefold litmus test for righteous anger: • Over injustice and/or unrighteousness. • It’s NOT about you. • Aims to RESTORE love and compassion.

Mark 3:5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

Unrighteous Anger Rooted in self-centeredness. Flesh-based objectives. Loss of self-control. Instead of having a constructive outcome, it bears fruit of destruction.

What does it do to me? “Anger is an acid that does more damage to the vessel in which it is stored than the person on whom it is poured.” The Giant of Anger is particularly efficient in inflicting simultaneous damage to wielder and target(s) alike. Anger is an intimacy blocker. If you want to derail any relationship, this is your tool.

What does it do to me? Anger breeds more anger in the short run and is an heirloom to your descendants. Anger extinguishes trust and joy in a home. Anger obliterates self esteem. Anger (further manifested in unforgiveness) confounds clarity, communication, and blessing from God. Anger is “debt spending.” It only deepens the hole.

How do I kill it? • Do not NURSE your anger. • Paul tells us not to let the sun set on your anger. • If you sleep with your anger, you own it. Do not feed or water anger to hang around that long. • Morning = new day. What did you try to bring with you from the previous day?

How do I kill it? • Do not REHEARSE your anger. • Sarcasm and cutting remarks have become an American sport. • Whether joking, or expressing trivial anger as a point of practice, we practice muscles that ought not be very strong in the first place.

How do I kill it? • Do not DISPERSE your anger. • Do not express unrighteous anger verbally or physically. • Being able to express your rage with great eloquence makes it no less a temper tantrum. • Paul tells us in verse 31 to avoid bitterness, wrath, clamor, evil-speaking, or malice.

How do I kill it? • DO REVERSE your anger. • Verse 32: with forgiveness and loving kindness and tenderness. • Romans 12:20-21 • “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing, you will heap coals of fire on his head.” • Is kindness-to-anger some sort of mystical superweapon of destruction?

Kill Shot A prominent Biblical theme is God’s encouragement to be imitators of His righteousness. Responding with kindness to insult is not about getting satisfaction. It is a reflection of the umpteen times God has given you another chance to get your act together.

Bonus Slide • What is so serious? Really! What? • Learning to take yourself less seriously is key to allowing God to mold your heart to be concerned with what gets HIS attention. • What do you deserve so much? • Remember what you deserved before Christ and work your way up from there. • By seeking His kingdom first, you’ll find your pattern of anger soon conforms.

Adapted from the series by David Jeremiah