Gateway Baptist Church
11/17/2024 Real Life: Anger

      • 2 Chronicles 7:14ESV

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  • 1 Samuel 18:1-9

    It's funny how Saul lashed out in jealousy. I once tried to play a game with friends, but I was so worried about losing that I accidentally knocked over the board! Sometimes, like Saul, we can let our anger over someone else's success spill over in ways we don’t intend. Let's learn to cheer each other on instead!
    Anger is the driving force between men, uniting them for good. It surfaces when we allow our jealousy to control our lives. What is anger? Anger is a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility toward others or things. It skews our ability to think correctly and rationally. It blinds us to what is true and righteous from God and only sees what is from Satan.
    Can righteous anger exist? Yes, Ephesians 4:26 states. Paul tells us to be angry and not sin. Was Saul’s anger righteous? No, he was driven by jealousy over David and pride in what he thought was his kingdom.
    Ephesians 4:26 ESV
    Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
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    Saul’s anger toward David is like a dog barking furiously at a car driving by. The dog can’t catch the car, and Saul can’t catch David either! Sometimes, we waste so much energy in anger, missing out on the joy of life. Saul could have been lifting David instead. Saul’s anger was kindled out of jealousy of David, envy over God’s providence with David, and pride over earthly objects.

    Jealousy:

    Jealousy can bring forth wrath and indignation from men quicker than anything. Everyone knows the saying: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" is a proverb that no one is angrier than a woman who has been rejected in love. It comes from a line in The Mourning Bride, a play by William Congreve, an English author from the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
    What is even more terrifying than that is a God who shows His wrath and Righteous Judgment on a world that has rejected His Son.
    Saul is neither a woman nor God, so his jealousy is driven out by a hatred toward David. This jealousy is not new; we read about it in Genesis with Cain and Abel. Genesis 4:5
    Genesis 4:5 ESV
    but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
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    Throughout history, we can read about men who revolted or led wars because of their jealousy over what others had. This jealousy turns into anger, which, left uncontrollable, will overtake a man’s ways.
    Saul’s anger or jealousy towards David did not happen overnight. His envy of David brought it on.

    Envy:

    I love what the preacher said in Ecclesiastes 4:4 .
    Ecclesiastes 4:4 ESV
    Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
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    You know covetous is a sin, but we all fall into that trap if we are not careful with our eyes leading our hearts. What do I mean? Our eyes are the window to our hearts, and if we are not protecting them, we allow envy of others to bring darkness where there should be light.
    To envy because it goes well with another and goes badly with yourself is misery. Those who envy pine in poverty; those who are envied abound in wealth.
    Solomon shared some more wisdom about envy; Proverbs 23:17 .
    Proverbs 23:17 ESV
    Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.
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    Saul was not zealous for the Lord but only for himself. Therefore, God removed him from His sight and gave the kingdom to David. Saul looked upon David not with love but with anger ravaging to kill him. He envied David because he saw God’s hands protecting David and delivering victory in everything he did.
    Saul was proud of a kingdom that did not belong to him. He also missed the fact that it did not belong to David. The Kingdom is God’s, and nobody else’s!

    Prideful:

    Prideful people can cause more damage than good. While other sins are against God’s law, pride is against God’s sovereignty. Pride caused Adam and Eve to be thrown out of the Garden of Eden. Pride has caused kingdoms to topple and men to plummet to the ground. It was pride that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Pride causes marriages to fail and men to become angry.
    Listen to what Jesus said, Mark 7:20-23 . Pride is listed with what comes out of the heart. Allow me to interpret ‘PRIDE’ and what it is. Saul was a prideful man because of his authority. Absolute authority corrupts absolutely. Our forefathers knew this and set up the closest system to protect our government from this happening. Is it perfect? No! Pride is telling God what you will or won’t do. Essentially, you are being a god over yourself and not allowing Him to be God in your life. You’re worshipping a false god and image you have created to soothe you.
    Mark 7:20–23 ESV
    And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
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    Listen to the Apostle John’s words in 1 John 2:16 .
    1 John 2:16 ESV
    For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
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    Saul was after worldly things, while David was after God’s heart!

    Application:

    1. Learn the difference between serving God out of love and serving yourself out of pride. Proverbs 16:18
    Proverbs 16:18 ESV
    Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
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    2. Protect your eyes from envying what others have. Proverbs 14:30
    Proverbs 14:30 ESV
    A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.
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    3. Be content with what God has given you! Hebrews 13:5
    Hebrews 13:5 ESV
    Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
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      • Ephesians 4:26NASB95

      • Genesis 4:5NASB95

      • Ecclesiastes 4:4NASB95

      • Proverbs 23:17NASB95

      • Mark 7:20–23NASB95

      • 1 John 2:16NASB95

      • Proverbs 16:18NASB95

      • Proverbs 14:30NASB95

      • Hebrews 13:5NASB95

  • Have Thine Own Way
Gateway Baptist Church
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