Get Rid Of Your Anger, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Nobody.

Nobody makes you anger inside job.

Anger is a choice you make.

What we don't like seal me so angry joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Now once again he shows us how God's word meets our world have any anger issues this last week.

Remember that I said anger is a strong feeling of displeasure and belligerence roused by a perceived wrong anger is often how we manifest hurt from unmet needs frustration from unmet expectations, and feelings of insecurity from a threaten self-esteem your human being. There is much to make you angry so alive you had to wait a long time in the checkout line at the store, your children, just not listening to you. The waitress was slower brought the wrong food stub your toe. If I got too late, that you're out of toilet paper line at the public restroom is very, very long. Your spouse forgot the call and was very late. The close that you were dying to wear to that event are still in the laundry hamper drove all the way across time to find the store was out of the one item that you needed the kids continually and relentlessly demand too much of your time. You forgot to do something that you were supposed to.

You have no time for yourself.

Someone said something harsh and insensitive. Do you store clerk was rude you're in a hurry and when you know it you hit every red light. Your boss doesn't appreciate you the way that you think he or she should someone track dirt into your freshly cleaned house.

The driver in front of you is going so slow someone close to you died. I hope you get the point we get angry we get angry at little things and big things we get angry at people we get angry at situations, institutions, God even ourselves. Ben Franklin said anger is never without a reason, but seldom a good one, considering all the damage that anger does in our lives, and particularly in your life. Why do we hold onto it.

Why do we keep it around this past week I read a psychologist who said that there are several reasons why people want to be angry to control and manipulate others to regurgitate negative emotions to relieve stress to keep people at a safe distance to avoid having to face are deeper and more painful problems to draw attention away from the real issues of our life to hide deeper hurts the field dominant powerful intimidating to take revenge to avoid scrutiny to avoid conflict to avoid change to avoid having to face the unknown.

You see, when it comes to anger the real issue isn't if the real issue in your life is when what is it that we are to do when we get angry. In other words, how should we deal with anger will gotta spoken and he's been very very clear about it, open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 4 Ephesians chapter 4 and before I go to verse 31, which is really the main text, I just want to say something about verse 26 because it's kind of a free verse kind of unusual because you don't expect to find and yet you do in verse 26. The apostle Paul tells the church of Ephesus and us.

He says this be angry, and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, surprised the angry go ahead be angry.

I think the Lord realizes there's a lot of situations and a lot of people in your life to give you reason to be angry.

It's interesting though what he is telling us is go ahead and be angry but deal with it now.

Go ahead and be angry but deal with it now we have this tendency, don't we. Many of us that when were angry we don't deal with it now Dewey as I said last time were like the toxic waste dump. We just put it in a put it. I am and eventually over the years. It starts losing out because we don't deal with it. He says no you must and then down now to verse 31, where it appears that he gives a very unrealistic request. Paul writes let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice that seem reasonable notice what he said not much wiggle room here all all, it's not just all anger, all bitterness and wrath clamor and malice but also all anger put it all away. That seem reasonable. I mean, would you rather he said something like trying to get control of your anger. Try to do better this week than you did last week. I mean that's kinda what you're hoping that he would say, but it doesn't give you any wiggle room. He says put it all away.

In fact, it's kind of it even more interesting when you look at the words he said that if seller slander shall be put away from you, put away the Greek word means to hastily remove some of the newer translations will say get rid of that's exactly right. Get rid of it. Get rid of all your anger as I was trying to think about what is the impact of those words that Greek word get rid of and the best way I could think of it, when illustrated this way. Just imagine that you walk in one of the abandoned homes in New Orleans and you're looking maybe to buy users rental property are limited for yourself hasn't been lived in since Katrina, and Ingrid is walking and so you walk into the first Roman not too good. You decide to go to bedrooms and you walk down the hall and you just turn in the hallway and you walk into the biggest spiderweb you've ever found in your life and just walked in.

It now.

What do you do in that situation honey I think I think I'm in a spiderweb so be careful when you walk into a spiderweb. How do you act you know what right you just want to do what dad rid of it get away from it pulled away. That's the inference of this passage, he is saying to us, get rid of all your anger get rid of all of it caraway.

Get rid of it. Well I know a lot of you so I know what some of you are thinking well pastor I'm not really an angry person I never slapped anybody.

I never hit anybody pastors you know I never raise my voice. Those kind of people make me mad. They're just pious. So let me try to help you. These are the ways in which you demonstrate anger. Sometimes we shut down sometimes you assert power and authority. Sometimes you become pushy and aggressive. Sometimes you yell and scream and shout and slam.

Sometimes you belittle the mean and slander. Sometimes you intimidate other sometimes you become depressed. Sometimes you isolate yourself sometimes you suppress your feelings you repress your feelings, your regressive feelings. Sometimes you become fearful. Sometimes you grab and hidden push and beat and kick and slap and throw things something to become defensive. Sometimes you become prideful and arrogant.

Sometimes you become withdrawn.

Sometimes you become self-righteous. Sometimes you even lie sometimes you cuss sometimes you withhold affection. Sometimes you whine sometime you put others down. Sometime you roll your eyes sometimes you spew out. Sometimes you threaten others. Sometimes you become hostile and violent. Sometimes you blame others. Sometimes you manipulate others.

Sometime you cover-up your feelings.

Sometimes you pretend not to feel the way you do. Sometimes you rationalize and justify your actions and feelings. Sometimes you make excuses.

Sometimes you gossip and slander.

Sometimes you become selfish and self-centered. Sometimes you grown. Sometimes you give ultimatums. Sometimes you just shrug your shoulders sometimes you sneer.

Sometimes you shake your fist your head.

Sometimes you deny your feelings. Sometimes you feel self-pity. Sometimes you become critical and cynical. Sometimes you become sarcastic. Sometimes you give the silent treatment. Sometimes you cry I get any of you. You see, not everybody is a volcano. Not everybody just use it all out but if you're a human being. You have anger issues.

We all get angry. Paul was telling us they get rid of it. By the way, don't forget the context where is Paul when he says that he's in jail he's in prison and you know why people hate him. That's the only reason he's in jail because people hate him.

Do you think he might be angry think it's possible that he would be angry. Yes Paul's not just saying this to the Ephesians gloss, but he saying it themselves.

Get rid of all your anger before I go to the bursa tells us how I want you to see something else. It's very important here. It's written between the lines in verse 31. Don't miss this. Nobody makes you angry.

Nobody makes you angry. Anger is an inside job.

Anger is a choice you make.

What we don't like that Dewey you see will you make me so angry see what would like Paul to say is hate. Stay away from angry the people that make you angry can you be okay to stay away from people make you angry at me.

Okay now he says you don't deal with anger by staying away you get rid of anger by the actions and choices you make. So please, if you start that idea.

This person makes you angry.

That person makes you angry. Don't buy it anymore because it's not true. Now Paul says, then there is a solution here, a formula I'm dealing with anger, he says, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. It's almost magical certainly secret to a lot of us. But Paul says here there is a way to get rid of anger and this is it not.

How does that sit with you. See I am a hunch for a lot of you would just like his lips are moving.

But I really not hearing at all what he saying I mean I want to hold your place and go with me back to Proverbs chapter 9.

This couple verses God is written specifically for you.

If that's the way you feel.

Proverbs 9 in verses eight and nine in Solomon writes this, he said, do not reprove a scoffer by the way scoffers are used synonymously with fools in the wisdom literature do not reprove a scoffer or he will hate you reprove a wise man and he will love you give instruction to a wise man and he will still be wiser teach a righteous man, and he will increase in his learning. Now we can go back not what Solomon is saying is this, when the word of God confront you with something it's very important and you allow it to change your life. You're a wise man but whenever the word of God addresses your confronts one of your behaviors and you ignore it. Your full your scoffer so we look at this passage of letting all the bitterness, wrath, anger, and clamor and slander be put away from us and along with all malice. He said this is the way you do it. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you. The first thing he says is to be kind, but I think that's a little bit misleading Christ. This is the Greek word and it means to be good and useful it can be translated kind but it means to be good and useful, so notice that the first thing he says is be good and useful to one another and then he says, tenderhearted you supplying loss. One of the only time to choose the entire New Testament you supplying loss.

It means to be sympathetic and empathetic. That's what it means he says tenderhearted here. If you put those two together look be good and useful to one another. Be sympathetic and empathetic to one another and these are just set up versus these are the actions you need to have the set up what really is the solution and the solution comes with the next phrase forgiving each other how I put away anger.

How do I do that he says by forgiving each other, and again he's very careful with his word choice after me is the word it's almost always use for forgiveness or forgiving.

It means the send it away. The idea forgiving something. I forgive you that I just send it away. But that's not the word he uses here he uses the word charisma. My if you see the word charisma you see in the beginning of at the word Congress the work harvest is usually translated in the New Testament. Grace, it means gift hears what he is saying he is saying. When we forgive one another, he means that give the gift freely to give an undeserved gift. That's what he means when he says the forgive one another. Give the person an undeserved gift and that gift. Of course, is forgiveness. So, which one do when you're angry. That seem fair to you see there's something going on here. Well, he gets much clear the next two words just as just as God in Christ has forgiven you. Just as just like you have been forgiven. Now you see it as a gift, don't you is the forgiveness of God, a gift in your life or is it something you thought you earned. See that's the whole point of grace, just the way you been forgiven just as that's the way you forgive people that's how you get rid of anger in your life you forgive Andy Stanley really gets to the heart of it when he writes this he said in the shadow of my hurt, forgiveness feels like a decision to reward my enemy.

I love that, in the shadow of my hurt, forgiveness feels like a decision to reward my enemy, but in the shadow of the cross, forgiveness is merely a gift from one undeserving sold to another. You see, you have to see it that way. That's how you get rid of your anger. You get rid of your anger because you see it just as just as I have been forgiven totally repeatedly. Maybe there's a loophole there's not will maybe there's a limit turn with me to Matthew chapter 18 Matthew chapter 18 verse 21, very familiar verse. We been there not that long ago.

In verse 21, Matthew writes. Then Peter came and said to the Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him. You see the world was like our world. It's one thing to forgive someone who was never dying egg and Stewart all and then inadvertently does something and inevitably what your responses.

I forgive you. What about somebody whose a stoning issue.

The burrow under your saddle.

What about the person.

It seems like every single day. There's a reason forgiven. In other words, what about your spouse. What about somebody that's right, there what about that so Peter says how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive them and then he gets very self-righteous and he says up to seven times.

Peter understood the rabbinic tradition of the day was three see we often say maybe to write first time something you do something like that to me. Shame what on you. The second time and I forgive you.

Shame on me were not even close. Peter says seven times in the throes of the Lord's going to be very impressed. He's not Jesus said to him I do not say to you, up to seven times but up to 70×7. Jesus means that for you literalist Jesus is using hyperbole any means always he means perfection. Some of you probably got a little notepad with a number 490 written on it and every time you forgive someone I can 486 471 to 95 were working it down. That's not what he names means always have to broke apart on the radio ministry or fellowship nor if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just listen to the message one more time. Remember the good a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of our previous audio program is at Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible.

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