The Fire That Rages Within
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· 4 viewsOur new self in Christ is experienced as we walk in the way of love.
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Intro [Slide - 1]
Intro [Slide - 1]
Listen to these words from the Apostle Paul to the Ephesian Church ():
[I pray that you may know] . . .19 [God’s] incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
What went through your mind when you heard those words? What did you think about as Paul underscores for us how incomparable the indwelling power of God is in us. The very power that rose Jesus from the dead, that gave Him new life, that gave us new life, is living in us! And now, this power of the resurrection goes beyond the work of God in redeeming us, buying us back from the bondage of sin. This power equips us to face life’s struggles: anxiety, anger, perfectionism, doubt, despair, addiction. It gives us the ability to Rise UP, to find our strength and reliance on Jesus to overcome.
That thought right there might sound foreign to some of you. The very thought that you can overcome the struggles of life, the struggles of life that rage not outside of yourself but within your very, soul may seem like a fairy tale. Yet it is this very truth that we would like to share with you over the next month as we lead-up to Easter.
Such was the case for all of you at one time in your life and still is for some of you.
Transition: [Slide - 2] For that place of hopelessness and despair is...
Such was the case before you knew Christ,
I. A perfect description of Who You Were Without Christ
I. A perfect description of Who You Were Without Christ
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
Paul is describing the life of one who does not know Christ:
Described a life
Lacking understanding
Void of true purpose and meaning
Separted from God
Having Callused hearts insensitivity to the world around them
Not true of all without Christ but in this general direction for those out of touch with God.
Four descriptors of a life without God:
But, it is not unfair to say that this is the direction in which every life is facing which is out of touch with God.
“Darkened in their understanding” = They didn’t have the wisdom and knowledge that comes from knowing God
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
“Separated from the life [that comes from] God” = The life that is found in God Himself, one of true meaning, purpose and joy, is lost to them
“Harden[ed] [callused] hearts” = Completely focused on self and as a result lacked a moral compass
“Lost all sensitivity” =
In , after listing a list of un-god-like lifestyles, Paul reminds the church of Corinth - “And that is what some of you were...” If I may, “any this is what some of you were.”
Ephesians: An Introduction and Commentary a. New Life to Replace the Old (4:17–24)
It is not implied that all that is said in this section is true of all who are not Christian, but it is not unfair to say that ‘this is the direction in which every life is facing which is out of touch with God; and this is the kind of life which will be reproduced in a community in which Christian influence is not active’.
Transition: Yet this was a description of who you were when you did know Christ and the direction you were going without Christ...
[Slide - 3]
II. But this is not Who You Are In Christ
II. But this is not Who You Are In Christ
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.
“However” = “In Christ” your minds are no longer darkened, lives are no longer alienated from God, hearts are no longer hardened and impure
You have learned about Christ and have been taught the truth in Christ (cf. :6)
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
You know this truth and this truth has set you free!
Free from the bondage and control of sin
Free to live righteous lives
They heard and were taught Christ is the subject they “heard” and the Sphere they were “taught” in It was in accordance with the truth because He is the truth ()
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
“Put-off” deceitful desires - self-centered lusts, which deceitfully promise joy but fail to provide it.
“Put-on righteousness and holiness” = Allowing the attitude of your minds to be changed and results in changed living
Put-off deceitful desires - self-centered lusts are deceitful because they promise joy but fail to provide it.
The unsaved person is subject to a continuous process of corruption which grows worse as time goes on. This process is of corruption is “according to the deceitful lusts.” Put off the evil cravings, the passionate desires (it was put-off when one was saved)
; they are no longer futile in their thinking, darkened in their understanding, and ignorant (vs. 18-19)
Put-on righteousness and holiness, which is based on truth (vs. 24). This truth contrasts the deceitfulness of lustful living (cf. vs. 14-15). Believers are made new in the attitude of their minds; they are no longer futile in their thinking, darkened in their understanding, and ignorant (vs. 18-19)
These are not commands, they are facts that believers have learned (; ); believers are new creatures in Christ, and hence they can no longer live as Gentiles live.
These are not commands, they are facts that believers have learned
[Slide - 5] You are a new creatures in Christ and something within us won’t let us live as we did without Jesus
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
(; ); believers are new creatures in Christ, and hence they can no longer live as Gentiles live.
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Their minds were no longer darkened; their lives are no longer alienated from God; their hearts no longer hardened and impure.
Ephesians: An Introduction and Commentary a. New Life to Replace the Old (4:17–24)
There must be the complete abandonment of the old way of living, and the working out of the new in personal life, and also in human relationships. Though
There is a desire to completely abandonment the old way of living.
“However” = Contrast Their minds were no longer darkened; their lives are no longer alienated from God; their hearts no longer hardened and impure. “Attitudes of your mind” = Higher life-principle in man by which the human reason, viewed on its moral side-the organ of moral thinking and knowing is informed. “A description of the walk of the heathen world generally - a walk moving within the limits of intellectual and moral resultlessness, given over to things devoid of worth or reality.” They heard and were taught Christ is the subject they “heard” and the Sphere they were “taught” in It was in accordance with the truth because He is the truth () Content is twofold: Put-off deceitful desires - self-centered lusts are deceitful because they promise joy but fail to provide it. The unsaved person is subject to a continuous process of corruption which grows worse as time goes on. This process is of corruption is “according to the deceitful lusts.” Put off the evil cravings, the passionate desires (it was put-off when one was saved)Put-on righteousness and holiness, which is based on truth (vs. 24). This truth contrasts the deceitfulness of lustful living (cf. vs. 14-15). Believers are made new in the attitude of their minds; they are no longer futile in their thinking, darkened in their understanding, and ignorant (vs. 18-19)These are not commands, they are facts that believers have learned (; ); believers are new creatures in Christ, and hence they can no longer live as Gentiles live. “Old man” refers to the unsaved person dominated by the totally deprave nature, the “new man” refers to the saved person dominated by the divine nature - this is what Paul was referencing when he says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” ()
There must be the complete abandonment of the old way of living, and the working out of the new in personal life, and also in human relationships.
Transition: If this is truly the case, if we are made new in Christ Jesus, how are we to “put on the new self?” How are we to use this indwelling power we possess in Christ to face head-on life’s struggles ? How are we to reconcile our present fight with promises like what we find in ?
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Take anger, for example. We all have experienced the consequences and affects of human anger. We have all been angry at times in our own lives and we have people who have been angry with us. Anger is one of the most destructive forces that can be unleashed among us. An emotions, a posture, an attitude, anger is so power and so real and so pervasive in our culture. Left unchecked it has caused wars, torn countries apart and ruined countless relationships.
This power equips us to face life’s struggles: anxiety, anger, perfectionism, doubt, despair, addiction.
anxiety, anger, perfectionism, doubt, despair, addiction
[Slide - 6] How can God redeem our anger?
Question: How can God use our anger for good?
Question: How can God use our anger for good?
Transition: So, how can God use our anger for good?
Each of the following five exhortations about a believer’s conduct have three parts: (1) negative command, (2) a positive command, and (3) the reason for the positive command
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “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.
We all experience the consequences and affects of human anger. We have all been angry at times in our own lives and we have people who have been angry with us. Anger as a force or a power is one of the most destructive forces that can be unleashed among humans. Emotions, posture, an attitude, so power and so real and so pervasive in our culture, you would think we would have a better handle of our understanding of it. Anger unchecked has caused wars, torn countries apart and ruined countless relationships and Yet, it seems as though we still struggle on it.
Passage gives (5) exhortations about how believers are to live and he talks about anger on more than one occasion.
We all have experienced the consequences and affects of human anger. We have all been angry at times in our own lives and we have people who have been angry with us. Anger is one of the most destructive forces that can be unleashed among humans. Emotions, posture, an attitude, so power and so real and so pervasive in our culture, left unchecked has caused wars, torn countries apart and ruined countless relationships. So, how can God use our anger for good?
and Yet, it seems as though we still struggle on it.
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
A. “In Your Anger” - “Be Angry”
A. “In Your Anger” - “Be Angry”
overcoming anxiety, anger or doubt/despair.
Paul was acknowledging that inherently anger is not a sin
If it were a sin then God is evil and Christ was a sinner
overcoming anxiety, anger or doubt/despair.
Be angry - He is acknowledging that inherently anger is not a sin. Anger in and of itself is not a sin. If it were a sin inherently then God is evil and Christ was a sinner b/c we know that it is part of the character of God for Him to express His wrath + Christ’s cleansing the temple showed anger (Righteous indignation)
Part of the character of God is for Him to express His wrath + Christ’s cleansing the temple showed anger (Righteous indignation)
We can be legitimately angry
B. "Do Not Sin”
B. "Do Not Sin”
Anger is such a volatile and powerful emption that it can cause us to loose self-control and behave in destructive ways to ourselves and others.
It even can be be a legitimate and righteous emotion but left unchecked, can so easily turn into those emotions that are so destructive
Anger, in and of itself, may be a legitimate and righteous emotion but left unchecked, can so easily turn into those emotions that are so destructive
Anger becomes the occasion of all kinds of wickedness
Anger becomes the occasion of all kinds of wickedness
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Eph 4.
Anger can cause the loss of self-control and cause us to behave in destructive ways to ourselves and others. Anger becomes the occasion of all kinds of wickedness (vs. 31). Metaphor - don’t let sun go down on your anger Anger, in and of itself, may be a legitimate and righteous emotion but left unchecked, can so easily turn into those emotions that are so destructive (bitterness - vs. 31…)
Anger becomes the occasion of all kinds of wickedness (vs. 31). Metaphor - don’t let sun go down on your anger Anger, in and of itself, may be a legitimate and righteous emotion but left unchecked, can so easily turn into those emotions that are so destructive (bitterness - vs. 31…)
Sometimes we are angry without just cause However, anger is such a volatile and powerful emption, that anger becomes an occasion for sin (loose our temper - to not be tempered, moderate, self-controlled). Anger can cause the loss of self-control and cause us to behave in destructive ways to ourselves and others. Anger becomes the occasion of all kinds of wickedness (vs. 31). Metaphor - don’t let sun go down on your anger Anger, in and of itself, may be a legitimate and righteous emotion but left unchecked, can so easily turn into those emotions that are so destructive (bitterness - vs. 31…)
“Anger” = Settled feeling of anger
Metaphor - “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.”
(bitterness - vs. 31…)
vs. 31). Metaphor - don’t let sun go down on your anger Anger, in and of itself, may be a legitimate and righteous emotion but left unchecked, can so easily turn into those emotions that are so destructive (bitterness - vs. 31…)
Left unchecked, even legitimate anger can so easily turn into those emotions that are so destructive
and do not give the devil a foothold.
“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.
Metaphor - Keep short accounts of dealing with your anger
If we wait, our righteous anger can intensify and become sin itself
“Neither give place” = Stop giving place (continuance)
The Devil would love to lead us further into sin + anger control us
He would love it if our anger begins to control us instead of us control our anger (eats away at us)
Transition: In order for us to do this, I believe it requires us to:
he reason is the devil would love to intensify a Christian’s righteous anger against sin, causing it to become sin itself. This give the devil a foothold (“ a place”), an opportunity for leading that Christian into further sin. The anger then begins to control the believer rather than the believer controlling his anger This requires the ability to have Crucial Conversations. “Neither give place” (vs. 27) = Greek which forbids the continuance of an action already going on. It is literally, “And stop giving place (any portion, opportunity, occasion for action).”
“Wrath” = Irritation, exasperation, something not so enduring as anger, which denotes a deep-seated sentiment The reason is the devil would love to intensify a Christian’s righteous anger against sin, causing it to become sin itself. This give the devil a foothold (“ a place”), an opportunity for leading that Christian into further sin. The anger then begins to control the believer rather than the believer controlling his anger This requires the ability to have Crucial Conversations. “Neither give place” (vs. 27) = Greek which forbids the continuance of an action already going on. It is literally, “And stop giving place (any portion, opportunity, occasion for action).”
equires us then to learn to have Crucial Conversations. To learn to
C. Understand The Nature Of Anger
C. Understand The Nature Of Anger
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
Our culture still hasn’t figured this out yet.
Three Most Common Causes Of Anger (RC Sproul)
Three most common causes of anger
(Distinguishing between the three but they are all variations of the same theme) [Slide - 7]
Distinguishing between the three but they are all variations of the same theme (RC Sproul)
Disappointment - We disappoint others expectations, they disappoint ours How do you handle disappointment? Expectation was not realized Axiom: People disappoint people - we are not able to completely fulfill all the expectations people have for us, if we let them down, Disappointment expresses itself in terms of anger Frustration - Disappointment repeated; hopes not realized repeatedly See how this works Child putting round peg in square hole (patient for a while then frustration) When do fights happen during sports games, unable to achieve desires and goals at the end, erupts Pain/Hurt - Emotionally, physically
Disappointment - Unmet expectations (ours + others)
We disappoint others expectations, they disappoint ours
How do you handle disappointment?
Reality is - People disappoint people
Disappointment often expresses itself in the form of anger
Frustration - Disappointment repeated; hopes not realized repeatedly [Slide - 8]
Illustration: Child round peg in square hole; sporting events (unable to achieve desires)
See how this works Child putting round peg in square hole (patient for a while then frustration) When do fights happen during sports games, unable to achieve desires and goals at the end, erupts
Pain/Hurt - Emotional or physical pain/hurt [Slide - 9]
All three involve some kind of pain.
All three involve some kind of pain. These are the things that provoke anger (Jesus anger with Father’s house b/c it pained Jesus to see a house of prayer turned into a house of merchandise).
These are the things that provoke anger (Jesus anger with Father’s house b/c it pained Jesus to see a house of prayer turned into a house of merchandise)
Understanding my own anger and someone elses anger it goes a long way if we can discipline ourselves to look past the anger to the pain b/c it is always there! The pain might be because of unrealistic expectations but they are there none the less.
Transition: [Slide - 10] Understanding our own anger and someone else’s anger goes a long way b/c
III. It will help us to Walk In The Way Of Love Towards Others
III. It will help us to Walk In The Way Of Love Towards Others
Transition: Here is how God can use our anger that we feel for good. It is how God can take the passion, the fire that rages within us at times and bring about something beautiful.
A. Look Past The Anger To The Pain
A. Look Past The Anger To The Pain
The pain might be because of unmet expectations but they are there none the less - our response should reflect this reality.
Ask yourself:
Why am I angry?
Why are they angry?
THE PAIN IS ALWAYS THERE!
B. Respond In Love
B. Respond In Love
Respond appropriately
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
if we can discipline ourselves to look past the anger to the pain b/c it is always there! The pain might be because of unrealistic expectations but they are there none the less.
Commands both to the wronger and the wronged
Be Kind
Be Compassionate
Be Forgiving
How can we do this when we feel so angry? Remember the Gospel!
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Anger Management tactics we must follow:
Zones of Regulation
Time-outs
Breathing
But when we feel unjustly treated, we can ask ourselves
We must walk in love (vs. 32 - 5:2)
We cannot let our sin turn into malice, hatred, evil speaking, etc.
But instead we are to…
Intro -
C. Repent Of Your Sin (if necessary)
C. Repent Of Your Sin (if necessary)
Scripture is by no means silent on this topic of anger.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Understand the nature of anger and how to deal with anger.
God can redeem our angry outbursts
He doesn’t choose to take back the words/actions but He gives us opportunities to humble ourselves, confess our sins and seek restoration.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Anger has left its devastating mark on each one of our lives, our families and our communities.
But God has redeemed us and has equipped us to face our anger within, to rise us as find our strength and reliance on Jesus in Christ.
It gives us the ability to Rise UP, to find our strength and reliance on Jesus to overcome.
This power equips us to face life’s struggles: anxiety, anger, perfectionism, doubt, despair, addiction. It gives us the ability to Rise UP, to find our strength and reliance on Jesus to overcome.
Each of us need to be healed, in some way, from our sin.