Hulk Smash! – Anger
I.
Introduction
a.
Illus: Royal City
Basketball Game
b.
How many of you
struggle with anger? This sermon is for
us.
II.
Body
a.
Why Do We Get
Angry?
i.
There are 6 main
reasons why people get angry:
1.
Frustration –
wanting something but not able to achieve it
a.
Not being able to
get the grades you want
2.
Alienation – not
accepted by those around you
3.
Hurt or threat of
hurt – physical and emotion
a.
Sometimes there
isn’t even a visible threat but it is caused by a flashback of a similar
situation in which you were hurt
4.
Injustice – you
or someone else is being treated wrongly
5.
Fear – not living
up to standards, losing love
a.
Not being able to
live up to what your parents expect from you
6.
Learned – see
parent or adult or friend doing it
ii.
The reason I
bring up the question of why we get angry is because if we can identify why we
are getting angry it can help us to deal with the anger.
b.
Is Anger A Sin?
i.
Mark 3:1-5 – “Another time he went
into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus,
so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” 4 Then
Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do
good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they
remained silent. 5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply
distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch
out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was
completely restored.
ii.
Did Jesus
sin? No, he was sinless. By these verses alone you have a quick
understanding that anger is more complex than what you thought. Anger is not a sin.
iii.
Psalm 4:4-5 – “In your anger do not sin; when you are
on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord.”
iv.
Notice in this
one it says: in your anger do not sin.
Not: don’t get angry and thus you will be sinning.
v.
If anger is not a
sin then it means that what we do with anger and why that anger arrived are
more important than the anger aspect of it.
1.
We already talked
about different reasons anger comes about, some are okay reasons, for instance
injustice.
2.
But we need to
now look at what we should, so that we don’t sin, do when anger does show up.
III.
Application
a.
The best way to
handle anger is to be WISE:
i.
Wave goodbye to
angry people
1.
Proverbs 22:24-25 – “Don’t make friends with a
hot-tempered man, don’t associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his
ways and get yourself ensnared.”
2.
If you must spend
time with them (ie they are a family member, put good influences in your life
that will counteract and overturn their influence)
ii.
Invite God to
Help
1.
Pray, Read the
Bible
2.
Fill your life
with the Goodness of God and it will overflow and put out the fire of anger
iii.
Seek the Root
1.
Figure out why
you are getting angry
a.
Frustration,
Alienation, Hurt, Injustice, Fear, or Learned
iv.
Ease It Quickly
and Correctly
1.
Ephesians 4:26-27 – “In your anger do not sin: Do not
let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a
foothold.”
a.
How quickly
should anger be handled? Before the day
ends
b.
Why so
quickly? So it doesn’t fester and get
worse, so we handle it correctly instead of bursting out in uncontrollable rage
that has built up.
2.
There are a lot
of ways we can deal with anger incorrectly
a.
Open your mouth
right away, Let your fists do the talking, Stay in the situation, Dwell on it,
Don’t deal with it, Use an inappropriate action (Eating, cutting, punching,
muttering)
3.
But we can do
some things to help ease our anger correctly
a.
Exercise, clean,
write, draw, cry, laugh, take a bath, talk to someone about it, listen to music
(uplifting), read something, or watch something to take your mind off it for a
while, read your Bible, pray, etc…
b.
Pray and let them
talk about it in their group
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