Sermon:

Growing up one of my favorite TV shows was the, "The

Incredible Hulk." The main character was a scientist
named Dr. David Banner. Most of the time he was a nice
guy. But when he become angry he would repeat those
famous words, Dont make me angry, you wouldnt like
me when I am angry. And if the person ignored his
warning right before your eyes he would transform into
Lou Ferrigno, this big green monster.
The whole series was built around Dr. Banners search for
a cure. Dr. Banner didnt like what anger did to him and
he did all he could to prevent it from happening.
The message many got from the series is that anger is
always bad, anger can turn a normal person into a
monster. Anger can turn you into someone you dont want
to be. As a result the best way of dealing with anger is to
never express it, because anger can be so volital the best
way to manage anger is to repress it. And that is how
many deal with anger today.
However in Ephesians 4, God gives us a different way of
looking at anger. Instead of dismissing anger as evil, Paul
tells us that anger can be a good and healthy emotion.
Anger itself is not wrong, it is the reasons and motivations
for our anger that cause us to loose control.
Let me share with you six ways to look at anger. The first
three are positive descriptions of anger and the last three
describe what happens when anger takes control.
1. Anger is a normal emotion. (26)
26 "In your anger do not sin": (NIV)
26 Be angry BUT do not sin; (RSV)
26 Be ye angry, AND sin not: (KJV)
The point is it is possible to be angry and not sin. Anger in
and of itself is not bad, God created anger for a good
purpose with good intentions.

You might remember the story of Jesus entering the

temple. When Jesus saw what the religious leaders had
done to corrupt the temple, Jesus became angry. His
anger was not directed at hurting people but at the wrong
things they had done in Gods name. Jesus was angry
because the people had violated God and His anger was
an expression of Gods anger. Jesus demonstrates that it
is possible to be angry and not sin. There is such a thing
as good anger or Godly anger.
The question we need to ask is: What did Jesus do that
allowed Him to express His anger in healthy ways?
The answer is found in His focus. Jesus never allowed His
emotions or pain to take His focus off of God and onto
himself. Jesus was able to keep God as His first priority
even when He was angry.
Our problem is we seldom become angry for the right
reasons or motives. Human anger tends to be selfmotivated rather than God-motivated. We become angry
when someone does something that hurts us or hurts
someone we love. Human anger is generally an offensive
weapon we use to defend our pride.
As a result, Anger is like a fire. If the fire is controlled, it
can be helpful and productive but if the fire gets out of
control it can be harmful and deadly. Anger is the same
way! Though anger is a natural emotion, we must be
careful how we use it because it can have devastating
effects.
Aristotle said it this way, Anybody can become angry
But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree,
at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right
way - this is not within everybodys power.
In other words anger is a normal emotion, but we must be
very careful how we express it.

2. Anger is a WARNING light built in by God. (26)

26 "In your angerdo not sin":
We can get into trouble when we ignore the signs of
anger. When we ignore the warning lights that lead to
anger we can find ourselves in a place we never intended
to be.
When I was a new driver I developed a bad habit. Instead
of filling up when the gas light came on, I would ignore
the warning and see how far I could get. Now, most of the
time I would fill-up right before the car stopped running;
but what do you do when you run out of gas on the way
to your wedding? Even though I had been reminded many
times, I ignored the warning and I ignored the signs that
indicated trouble is near. As a result I walked the last mile
to the church in my tuxedo.
Now maybe you are better than I am when it comes to
responding to warning lights, but how well do you respond
to anger? How well do you anticipate the things that
cause anger? How well do you keep your anger from
getting out of control?
God designed anger to be a flashing light yellow light to
say to us - proceed with caution, be aware, know that
trouble is near. So when the light comes on dont ignore
it. Dont think it will just go away.
3. Anger must be RESOLVED. (End, 26)
26 Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry
Anger can be a healthy emotion but it is not designed to
be a permanent emotion.
When Jesus became angry in the temple and turned over
the tables of the money changers, He did not remain
angry. After the event He didnt dwell on what happened,
He didnt allow His anger with the people to impact His

love for people.

Look at how Matthew records the events in chapter 21,
12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who
were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of
the money changers and the benches of those selling
doves. 13 "It is written," he said to them, "My house will
be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den
of robbers." 14 The blind and the lame came to him at
the temple, and he healed them.
Circle the words, AT THE TEMPLE.
I dont know about you but when I get angry I have a
hard time letting go. When I get angry my anger generally
gets the best of me, it can ruin an entire day. Anger can
cause me to become a person I dont want to be, it can
cause me to say things I didnt want to say.
I read the results of a study that demonstrates the effects
of anger. The researchers found that anger causes the
average females blood pressure to rise 6 points and the
average males blood pressure to rise 14 points. It also
indicated that unresolved anger is the number one cause
for psychological depression. The point is, when we get
angry, anger takes control.
But when Jesus became angry He remained the same
person, He did not loose control. His anger did not have a
negative impact on His character or cause Him to say the
wrong things. He went from anger to mercy in the same
day. His anger was motivated by His love for people and
never became a vehicle for harboring resentment. Anger
must be resolved.
4. Unresolved anger is an open INVITATION for evil. (2728)
27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has
been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing

something useful with his own hands, that he may have

something to share with those in need.
When anger gets a foothold in your life, you are more
susceptible to doing things you would not normally do
even stealing. Paul is addressing a real problem that was
happening in his churches. Because the people were angry
at each other they stopped caring and started stealing.
Anger caused them to loose their concern for the
community and start focusing instead on themselves.
Unresolved anger causes us to ask: What is best for me?
Anger makes us more aware of what we need and less
concerned about what is right or best for others.
Proverbs 14:17 17 A quick-tempered man does foolish
things..
Proverbs 29:22 22 A hot-tempered person starts fights
and gets into all kinds of sin.
You might remember the story of Cain and Able. Cain
became angry at Able because God valued Ables offering
above Cains. When God noticed the anger that was
building in Cains heart God warned him in Genesis 4,
6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why
is your face downcast? 7 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."
Instead of listening to God Cain allowed his anger to get
the best of Him and it resulted in the death of his brother.
I imagine Cains first thought was not to kill his brother. It
was only after anger took control that he did what he
normally would not do. Unresolved anger turned a bitter
Cain into a killer.
A very similar event happened in the life of Alexander the
Great. Though Alexander literally conquered the world he

was unable to control his anger. Alexander had a friend

and a general in his army named Cletus. On one occasion
Cletus became drunk and ridiculed the emperor in front of
his men. Blinded by his anger Alexander snatched a spear
and threw it at Cletus. Though he had intended to scare
him the spear took the life of his childhood friend. As a
result Alexander was overcome with guilt and attempted
to take his own life. History records that Alexander feel
into a deep depression and laid in bed for days calling for
his friend.
One historian writing about this event said, Alexander the
Great conquered many countries, but he failed miserably
to conquer his own self. (Lutzer)
When anger gets a hold on your life you are prone to
doing things you will later regret.
5. Unresolved anger is LETHAL when molded into words.
(29)
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your
mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up
according to their needs, that it may benefit those who
listen.
Quick and careless words cause more damage to people
than any other known force in the world. When we allow
unresolved anger to build within us it will eventually
explode into harmful words.
Every year many people are killed all over the world by
unexploded bombs. I recently read that hundreds of
pounds of explosives are recovered every year in France
alone. Many of these bombs were dropped in WWI and II
and are now turning up all across Europe. They fell
harmlessly from the sky but over the years their contents
have sat exposed to the elements. With time and
corrosion they have become more and more dangerous,
any slight movement could set them off.

There are many people who are like those aging land
mines. When anger lingers in the human heart any small
problem can set it off, resulting in lethal words. Words
that destroy relationships and damage lives.
6. Unresolved anger DISTANCES us from God. (30)
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom
you were sealed for the day of redemption.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior
you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, Gods Spirit lives in
you. But when you allow anger to build up in your life it
repels the influence of the Spirit. The Spirit still lives in
you but your anger is keeping Him from working fully in
your life.
Imagine it this way - Lets say someone is teaching you to
play the piano. You start off with a great deal of
enthusiasm and energy and make some real progress in a
short period of time. Then after a few months you get
distracted, you stop practicing and you forget why you
started playing in the first place. Your teacher begins to
notice that your playing is suffering and he asks you, Are
you sure you want to play the piano? You say, Yes, but
over the next few weeks you continue to ignore what you
have learned.
How long do you think your teacher is going to invest into
you when you fail to practice what you have learned? The
answer is not very long.
Well the Holy Spirit works in a similar way. When we fail
to put into practice the things the Spirit is teaching us, the
Spirit takes a step back in our lives. His voice becomes
silent and His influence less evident. Though the Spirit
never leaves us, His power does.
Unresolved anger blocks the impact of the Spirit in our
lives. Anger limits how God can use us and keeps us from
becoming the person God designed us to be.

Summary: Anger is a normal emotion. God designed

anger for a good purpose anger serves as a warning
light. A warning light that must be resolved. When anger
is not resolved it can result in doing things we normally
would not do, saying things we normally would not say
and broken fellowship with God.
Now that we have looked at anger more closely, I want to
share with you three ways you can learn to avoid the
negatives and experience the benefits of good anger.
Let me share with you three ways to be Good and Angry.
1. EXAMINE yourself.
The only way you will know if anger is a problem in your
life is to stop and do a self exam. Doctors recommend
that we examine ourselves physically to detect any
abnormalities before they become a problem. Likewise
God wants us to examine ourselves spiritually to detect
any feelings of bitterness or unresolved anger before they
become a habit.
1st ask: How do I express my anger?
Psychologists have identified four basic ways that we learn
to express anger.
1. Maniac (exploder)
A famous golfer was out on the links instructing his son
when some reporters came up to him. The reporters
began to ask the young boy some questions about his
fathers game. One reporter ask, What has your father
taught you when you hit your ball into the rough? The
boy was hesitant to answer the question so his father said
to him, Go ahead Son! Show them exactly what I do
when I hit the ball into the trees? The boy looked again
at his father then suddenly took his club and threw it into
the water.

You see his father was an exploder. When things didnt go

his way he would over react and take his aggression out
on whatever was in front of him. Some of us are
exploders.
2. Mute (imploder),
This is the person who is determined never to get angey.
Instead of expressing healthy anger he/she bottles it up
inside and pretends as if nothing ever bothers him.
Someone once said, When I learned to swallow my
anger, I later realized my stomach kept count. Some of
us are imploders.
3. Martyr (inflictor), Like Eyore.
This is a person who is excellent at throwing pitty parties.
They secretly enjoy being disappointed and feel
uncomfortable when things are going well. Their anger is
repressed and later manifests itself as depression.
4. Manipulator (exploiter), This is the passive aggressive
personality.
Like Lee Iacocca when he was fired from Ford said, I
dont get mad, I just get even.
1st identify how you express your anger. Then
2nd Ask: What kind of person do I want to be? Or what
kind of person does God want me to be?
When you have an vision of the kind of person you want
to become, you will be more motivated to make the
necessary changes. You will have a better idea of what
needs to change when you know where your character is
headed.
Secondly once you identify how you express anger

2. STOP and THINK.

When you find yourself in a situation that could cause you
to loose your temper ask these three questions:
1st Ask: Why am I angry?
Sometime the reason is not obvious but lies deep below
the surface. Anger is not always the root problem but a
symptom of a bigger problem. When little issues cause
you to over react you might be dealing with residual
anger. The pain and frustration of past events could be
causing you to become angry over petty issues. At this
point it is important to seek the guidance of a trained
counselor, someone who can help you get to the core
issue and encourage you to go to Christ for healing.
2nd Ask: Is it worth getting angry about?
Not everything that bothers you is worth expressing. It is
important that you learn to pick your battles carefully.
3rd Ask: What do I really want out of this encounter? When you think through it logically where do you want the
situation to go?
I love email. I think email is great. When I get frustrated
with someone or a situation I sit down and write an email
describing the problem and the solution. Then I save it in
my, To be sent folder. I leave it there and read it the
next day. 9 times out of 10 I never send the email.
Sometimes just writing things down and coming back to
them the next day is all the resolution you need.
Sometimes anger wont bring about the result we are
hoping for.
So once you have identified how you express anger and
once you have thought about why you are angry
3. Replace your anger.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and

slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and
compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just
as in Christ God forgave you.
When you are sick or have a virus the first thing you do is
try to get rid of it. You might drink lots of fluids, get
plenty of rest or take medications that will combat the
effects. Paul is saying when you harbor anger inside do
everything you can to get rid of it. Like a virus it wants to
gain supremacy over your life but you need to do all you
can to replace your anger with something more powerful.
What is the one thing that will help you get rid of your
anger? FORGIVENESS
Learn to FORGIVE.
Forgiveness releases the person who has hurt you and
gives the pain to God. Forgiving is not forgetting but it is
letting go of the pain caused by another person or an
event.
How can you learn to replace anger with forgiveness?
1. Believe that anger is a rational choice! People can
provoke you to become angry but only you can stay
angry. Anger in the end is a choice you have made.
2. Look to the Holy Spirit to empower you. Confess to God
that you have not expressed you anger in healthy ways.
List the different events where you allowed the situation
to be out of control and ask God to forgive you. When you
have agreed with God about where you need to change
the Holy Spirit will become a strong force in your life for
change.
3. Remember, Jesus forgave you!
Outline adapted from Jim Nicodem, The Straight Scoop
on Anger. Excellent Resource!!!