ANGER

ANGER
By Tommy Franks

1. What is "anger"? Wrath, indignation, resentment, fury, rage, scorn, displeasure, violence, madness, turbulence, irritation, temper, impatience, animosity, fretfulness, passion

2. "And Cain was very angry (wroth)..." (Gen.4:5).-God talked to Cain.-Cain refused God's way (acceptable sacrifice).-Cain's anger grew. He killed Able (Gen.4:8).

3. "The Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people: NOW therefore let Me alone, that My WRATH (anger) may wax HOT against them, and that I may CONSUME them: and I will make of you a great nation" (Ex.32:9-10).Remember the quail episode? "While the meat was yet between their teeth, the ANGER of the Lord kindled against them, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague" (Nu.11:33).Remember Solomon? "And the Lord was ANGRY with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice...Solomon kept not that which the Lord commanded" (1Kg.11:9-10)."Therefore the Lord was VERY ANGRY with Israel" (2 Kg.17:18)."God is ANGRY with the wicked EVERYDAY" (Ps.7:11)."He that believeth NOT the Son shall NOT see life; but the WRATH (anger) of God abideth on him" (Jn.3:36).-the wrath of the Lamb (Rev.6:16)-the day of His wrath (Rev.6:17)-the wrath of God (Rev.14:10)

4. "Whosoever continues to be ANGRY with his brother without a cause is in danger of judgment" (Mt.5:22)."Be you ANGRY and sin NOT" (Eph.4:26).-not soon ANGRY (Titus 1:7).-slow to anger (Ja.1:19)."Jesus looked round about on them with ANGER" (Mk.3:5).

5. Anger is an emotion. Love is an emotion. Hate is an emotion. Joy is an emotion. Fear is an emotion. Happiness is an emotion. Peace is an emotion. God made us like Himself. We feel. We breathe. We love. We hate. We do get angry!

A. Moses got angry and killed a man. "He looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand" (Ex.2:12).

B. David got angry because Uriah would not go down and sleep with his wife (Bathsheba). So, he had him killed. David wrote a letter to General Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In other words, Uriah departed Jerusalem with his own deathsentence in his hands. The letter said, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and then withdraw from him that he may die" (2 Sam.11:15).

C. Peter got so ANGRY that he cut off the right ear of a man named Malchus (Jn.18:10).

D. Paul got angry. "The contention (dispute in anger) was so sharp between them (Paul and Barnabas) that they departed one from the other. Paul took Silas. Barnabas took John Mark" (Acts 15:39-40).-Another time Paul got angry with the high priest..."God shall SMITE you, you whited wall...Do you judge me & yet you are in defiance of the law" (Acts 23:3)?

E. Jesus got angry (Mk.3:5). Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, "You blind fools (morons, pinheads)...hypocrites, serpents, vipers...How can you escape the damnation of Hell" (Mt.23)?-Another time when Jesus was referring to Herod, He said, "Go tell that fox (cunning, crafty, cowardly individual) that I cast out devils and I do cures TODAY and tomorrow" (Mt.14:32).

F. John the Baptist who wore camel's hair and a leather girdle...and ate locusts and wild honey got angry. He said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, "You generation of snakes...Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth fruitsmeet for repentance...The axe is laid unto the root of the trees. Every tree that does NOT bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire" (Mt.3:7-10).

G. Even ten of the disciples got angry with two of the other disciples who were brothers (James and John). They were moved with indignation (anger) against them (Mt.20:24).

H. These two sons of Thunder (James and John) even wanted to command fire to come down and destroy a Samaritan village (Lk.9:54).

6. ANGER CAN BE TURNED INTO "CREATIVE AGGRESSION" and "ASSERTIVELIVING".