Spirits That Destroy-Anger

 

Anger....Psalms 37:8, Ecclesiastes 7:9, Proverbs 12:16, Ephesians 4:26

 

A. Anger is not evil per se, being, as love, an original susceptibility of our nature. If

anger were in itself sinful, how could God himself be angry? Paul commands the

Ephesians (Ephesians 4:26) that when angry they are not to sin. Paul does not

forbid the being angry within itself, because there is a Holy anger, which is the

spur of virture, as there is also a divine anger....but the being angry is to be with-

out sin. Anger is sinful when it arises too soon (not controlled) without reflection;

when the injury which awakens it is only aparent; when it is disproportionate to

the offense; when it is transferred from the guilty to the innocent; when it is too

long protracted and becomes revengeful.

 

B. Anger is one of the most common sins, yet one of the most dangerous and

injurious to the peace and well-being of mankind. More than any other sin, it

blasts the flower of friendship, turns mankind out of Eden, destroys peace and

concord in the home, incites or leads to crime and violence, and turns love and

affection into hatred.

 

C. Anger is one of mankind's most devastating sins. This is one sin which anyone is

capable of committing. The tiny baby has a fit of temper and loses it's dinner. The little boy has a tantrum and upsets the family decorum. The wife loses her

temper and develops a sick headache. The husband gets angry and loses his

appetite. Every member of the family is subject to it's blight.

 

D. Anger breeds remorse in the heart, dischord in the home, bitterness in the

community and confusion in the state. Homes are often destroyed by the

swirling toronadoes of heated domestic anger. Business relations are often

shattered by fits of violent temper when reason gives way to venomous wrath.

Friendships are often broken by the keen knife of indignation, which is sharpened

by the whetstone of anger.

 

E. Anger is denounced by the church and condemned by the sacred scriptures. It

murders, assaults and attacks....causing physical and mental harm to its victims. It's recoil, like a high powered rifle, often hits back at the one who wields it, doing

equal damage to the offender and the offended.

 

F. Anger is to be put off....Colossians 3:8, Anger reveals your carnal nature....

Proverbs 12:16, a wise man will control his flesh and hold his peace.

Proverbs 16:32, self control within is better than conquering a city without. Many have conquered and subdued everything except themselves. They remain a slave to their own passions. Alexander the great conquered the world but was a slave to intemperate anger. In a fit of anger he killed Clytus, his best and most loved friend and regretted it ever afterwards. Matthew 5:22, men must have just and lawful causes to be angry and even then, they are to keep their temper under strict control. Ephesians 4:26, angry here means to disagree, but even if there is a disagreement you must not give vent to hostility...verse 31-32, bitterness, malice, venom, any vehement passion, anger, wrath, hatred, vengence, naughtiness, maliciousness, etc. The fruit of the spirit is temperance or self-control...Galatians 5:22. Ecclesiastes 7:9, only a foolish man will entertain anger and keep it alive in his bosom until it incites him to take revenge; a wise man will cast anger out of his bosom quickly as he would coals of fire.

 

G. Many people are charming, lovable and likable until...they become obsessed with a fit of rage, and then they are transformed into repulsive, irrational creatures more like wild beast than civilized mankind.

 

H. Anger not only brings out the animal nature of mankind, but hinders Christian

Testimony. Peter, angered at the Roman soldiers, grabbed a sword and cut off the

servant's ear; but Jesus reproved him for his angry spirit and said in Matthew 26:52….they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

 

I. A professed Christian woman was very anxious for her husband to find God. She

asked the minister to talk to her husband about his lost soul. One day the minister

got a chance to talk to him and to his amazement, her husband said “I'm not

particularly against religion, but if Christianity should make me like my wife is at

home...I don't want any part of it! Her testimony had been destroyed in the home

by her acts of anger.

 

J. The bad thing about losing your temper is that other things are often lost with it.

When temper rages, your good expression goes. When temper rages, your reputation goes. When temper rages, your friends go. When temper rages, your opportunities go. When temper rages, your testimony goes.

 

K. Anger is the parent of murder, Cain was wroth before he murdered Abel. Anger

cocks the assain's pistol, dispenses the killer's poison and sharpens the murderer's

dagger. Anger devastates, mutilates and destroys. It kindles the fire of passion, fans the flame of envy and leaves the soul barren and desolate.

 

L. Too many of us are guilty of this blighting sin, (anger). Though we excuse ourselves by blaming our uncontrolled anger upon our natural disposition, down

deep inside...our conscience tells us that it is wrong! What can be done about this

dispositional sin? Can GOD calm the tempestuos sea of anger as he did the

turbulent Sea of Galilee? If there was no way to overcome anger, if there were no way to bring it under control, God would never have said in Psalms 37:8 “cease

from anger and forsake wrath.” God never demands an action which is impossible of achievement.

 

M. The first step in finding victory over unjustified anger is to want to get rid of it.

The human will says, “ I will do something about this unruly temper of mine.”

This means that you stop justifying yourself by saying...”My whole family is

quick tempered-I inherited it from my mother.” or, “Everyone loses his/her temper sometime or another. You must recognize it as an ugly venomous sin, both

in the eyes of God and in your own sight. Secondly, we must confess this evil

anger to God and ask his forgiveness for fits of rage and uncontrolled temper. If

anger is a sin as God has said and if being angry with one's brother/sister without

a cause brings the judgment of God, we ought to hate it, dispise it and seek by

divine methods ways to overcome it.

 

N. Anyone knows that hot, violent anger is unrighteous and un-Christ-like.God,in his love and mercy, has promised both to forgive us of the sin of anger and to cleanse us from it. Our tempers which were used in wrath now become things of blessing. The tongue which was once used for profanity now becomes an instrument of praise. The hands which once hurt now become healing hands. The feet which once walked the pathways of violence now walk the pathways of love and service. The wild horses of passion are tamed by the Spirit and become our servants rather than our masters.

 

O. Remember Peter...before the resurrection and the descent of the Holy Ghost? He

swore in the camp of the enemy, denying his Lord and became enraged at the

soldiers who took Jesus into custody. His angry spirit was a poor witness for a

disciple of the lowly Galilean. But after the Spirit of God came into his heart

on the day of Pentecost, his temper was brought under control. Never again was

his tongue employed in profanity. Never again were his hands used in violence.

Never again was his voice raised in denial of his Lord. Never again were his feet

found in the camp of the enemy. Peter's temper was not gone-it had been

diverted to a constructive purpose. It had been bridled by the Holy Ghost.

 

P. You can become a meek man/woman. The word “meek” actually means that you

become controlled by the Holy Ghost. As a wild force tamed, so the Spirit of

God can tame your tongue and tame the passions of your soul and bring your flesh into harmony with the Holy Ghost...if you surrender your heart and your life to Jesus. Being a true Christian requires complete and total submission of your flesh to Jesus.