Message: Why Are You Angry?
I.
Introduction
a.
During this
coming year we are going to have an interlocking theme for each of the sermons,
each one will be about a question that is asked in the Bible.
b.
Often the Bible
gets looked at as something full of answers (which it does have) but it is
amazing when you read the Bible how many Questions it asks, and not just silly
questions, but deep ones that go to the core of our life.
c.
So each week we
will look at one of those questions and hopefully by the end of the year see
ourselves more rooted in Christ as we grow together.
II.
Body
a.
Read Genesis 4:1-8
– “Adam lay with
his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to
Cain. She said, “With the
help of the LORD I have brought
forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain
worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the
fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the
firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his
offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD
said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face
downcast? If you do what is right, will
you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at
your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go
out to the field.” And while
they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.”
b.
The question of the night is, “Why are you
angry?”
c.
How many of you struggle with anger in your
life?
a.
What does your anger look like (how do you show
it)?
b.
Illus: Pop Can Shaking, my anger is like this
can, I shake and shake and shake until a final thing pushes me over the edge
and I explode, usually in words.
d.
Do you think Cain knew why he was angry
(literally: so hot
a.
He probably knew, but didn’t want to acknowledge
why he was angry
e.
How many of you that deal with anger know why
you are angry?
a.
What kinds of things get you really mad?
f.
There are 6 main
reasons why people get angry (shake can after each one):
i.
Frustration –
wanting something but not able to achieve it
a.
Not being able to
get the grades you want
ii.
Alienation – not
accepted by those around you
iii.
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
iv.
Injustice – you
or someone else is being treated wrongly
v.
Fear – not living
up to standards, losing love
a.
Not being able to
live up to what your parents expect from you
vi.
Learned – see
parent or adult or friend doing it
g.
No more shaking of can!
h.
God tells Cain
that in order to overcome his angry he needs to master it
a.
The word means to
be in control of, to reign over it, to have power over
b.
Meaning you might
get angry, but you need to be able to guide it correctly
i.
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.”
III.
Conclusion
a.
How can you
master your anger?...similar to mastering a horse
a.
Get the right
equipment so you can ride him
i.
Get a deeper
relationship with God…fruit of the Spirit
a.
Pray, Read Bible,
Spend time with him, Go to church
b.
Gain the fruit of
the spirit in your life, the more time you spend with him (Love, Joy, Peace,
Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control)
c.
Get baptized in
the Holy Spirit
ii.
Find ways to
direct it
b.
Get to know the
cause of it running wild…and deal with it
i.
Stay away from
angry people…if possible
a.
If they are a
family member, counteract with more good influences
ii.
If it is
something in your past…deal with it
a.
Illus: Not
feeling like a man, fixing things makes me mad
b.
If you need to
forgive, forgive. If you have been hurt,
forgive. If you feel alienated, find
belonging in Christ. If you
c.
Get help from
someone on the ground
i.
Someone that has
dealt with anger and found some healing from it can help you start to master
it.
d.
Direct the anger
to go the right direction
i.
Find ways that
appropriate to deal with anger, so you don’t explode
ii.
Don’t open your
mouth right away, get out of the situation, clean, exercise, write, listen to
calming, uplifting music, read the bible, etc…
iii.
Learn to get
angry about the correct things, but deal with that with passion rather than
lashing out.
iv.
Illus: Open
Can…when we deal with it correctly we don’t explode
b.
Pray and ask God
to help
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