2002-09-27
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
It's never easy to look into the sins in one's life, but God has made it clear that for us to be sanctified we must do that. As I have said in previous messages, sanctification is God's way of purifying and perfecting us, so that we will be ready to accept the call of the last trumpet that signals our glorification. That wonderful meeting in the air [1 THESS 4: 13-16] and the receiving of "resurrection" bodies [1 COR 15: 42-50] are carried out as we are taken up to heaven to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb [REV 19: 5-10] and begin spending an eternity of joy and fellowship with the Lord there. So, when we take the time to examine issues like anger, the subject of today's message, we are not wasting our time or dwelling on the negative. We are simply helping each other to carry out God's will in our lives.
We must understand that anger in and of itself is not a sin. A lot of people think this, and so they do what they can to bury their anger and not deal with it constructively. There are times when anger is quite righteous. We need only remember the example of Christ's anger with the moneychangers in the temple in MT 21: 12-13. Christ's righteousness in turning over the tables is based on IS 56: 7 and JER 7: 11. [God speaking through Isaiah, "I will bring you to Zion, My sacred hill, give you joy in My house of prayer, and accept the sacrifices you offer on My altar. My temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations....[God speaking through Jeremiah] Do you think My temple is a hiding place for robbers? I have seen what you are doing. " Christ is giving us a good example of the righteous application of His wrath against outright wrongdoing and lack of faith when he expelled the moneychangers from the temple.
Anger is an emotion, and the trouble comes when it takes over and is the fuel for sinful behavior. EPH 4: 26-27, "If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. Do not give the devil a chance." Obeying this directive certainly puts a damper on holding a grudge or allowing one's anger to spill out into illegal, immoral, or unsafe behavior. When this lack of self-control does happen, it is the flesh taking over control over the spirit. Awhile back, I wrote about the personalities of a believer having different stages. You'll remember that a person new in his faith is still in the process of closing the door to his spirit to Satan. The more mature a person becomes in his faith, the more closed to Satan that door is. The door to the Holy Spirit begins slightly ajar, but as the person becomes more mature, the Holy Spirit is allowed into his inner self and actually takes over for his human spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit's agenda becomes one with the individual's agenda. It is this to which I often refer when I've said we need to: 1) confess our sins, 2) present our spiritual vessels to God emptied of human agendas, and 3) ask Him to fill our vessels with the His Spirit. We are still capable of sinning, but the truly mature person in his faith is less likely to do so. When and if he does, he will go to God, confess his sins in keeping with RO 10: 9-10, and ask God for forgiveness. Naturally, that includes an immediate cessation of the sinful behavior and/or thoughts. By doing this, the devil doesn't get a chance to establish a stronghold over the person's spirit.
When a person refuses to stop sinning, the devil really can get his hooks into him. GA 5: 19-21 shows us how this happens. "What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before; those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of heaven." One phrase in this passage really jumps out at me. It's the one where people are said to separate into groups or parties. This separation certainly would explain the efforts toward exclusivity that people make and the psychological barriers they erect between themselves by dress codes, behavior patterns, false teaching, evil beliefs, and man-made titles designed to garner prestige. The separation is not only between one person and another, but it is between a person and God-the very definition of sin. While Satan loves this kind of thing, it leads directly to spiritual death, not eternal life.
While it is hard to think about these things, it is necessary in our lives to deal with their presence in ourselves (if they are there) and in others who impact us. While we can't physically stop another from sinning, we can certainly set a godly example for that person and encourage the stopping of sinful behavior. We must examine our own lives, asking how we each deal with anger we sometimes feel. As for the life of others, praying for them even when they are bedeviling us, setting a godly example, and never forgetting the thin line between righteousness and self-righteousness are within our ability to do. God would really want us to know His will in our lives for this important issue.
PRAYER: O Lord, today You have asked us to examine our lives in an effort to deal with a very painful issue, anger. This problem is nothing new to mankind. You dealt with things done in rage in DT 19: 4-7. Your wisdom and fairness always shines through whatever You say. We acknowledge the righteousness of Your wrath when You decided twice to punish Your chosen people by allowing them to temporarily lose their nationhood and be scattered in captivity to their sin and their enemies. However, we are grateful that Your punishment was corrective action, and as Jeremiah relates in JER 29: 11-13, it was never designed for their destruction. In fact, Your desire is that all of Your children who love You and believe in You should prosper. PS 30: 5, "His anger lasts only a moment, His goodness for a lifetime. Tears may flow in the night, but joy comes in the morning." Imagine the joy of the Jewish people when on May 14, 1948, their nationhood was restored. Through David, You tell us in PS 37: 8, "Do not give in to worry or anger; it only leads to trouble." What wisdom there is in this advice! This same advice is given to us by You through Solomon in PR 14: 17, "People with a hot temper do foolish things; wiser people remain calm." We must not let our anger lead to sin. We must remember when the Pharisees rebuked Christ for healing the paralyzed man on the Sabbath, Christ reacted as follows in MK 3: 5, "Jesus was angry as he looked around at them, but at the same time He felt sorry for them, because they were so stubborn and wrong. Then He said the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out, and it became well again." We come to You today, Dearest Abba, confessing our sins and asking You to give us wisdom and self-control. Help us to always see Your perspective on the things that anger us. We humbly offer You our adoration, worship, trust, obedience, loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, praise, and thanks. In Christ's holy name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to write about how we can deal with anger we have and a better understanding of Paul's message in EPH 4: 27, "Do not give the devil a chance." If our Lord didn't love us so profoundly, He would never have taken the time to consistently inspire the writers of the Scriptures to make His will about anger (or anything else) known to us. Our Creator and Parent has never been neglectful. His continual presence in our lives, even when He is advising, rebuking, or correcting us, is a manifestation of His caring love for each of us. He has taken very unruly people with very checkered pasts and has dealt with them in a very loving way, bringing them through the Holy Spirit to faith. I attended the closing for a Cursillo men's weekend in which four ex-cons had been brought to faith and, with that group, were showered with grace and God's love. This love is real, and it's there for each of us, no matter what the circumstances of our lives might be. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn