Slow to Anger
God is • Sermon • Submitted
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God is slow to anger!
I want to begin my message today using Psalm 86. Psalm 86 is a prayer King David prayed to God. This is a prayer of praise. Let me start and then you join me. Whether you are watching online or in person. Make this your prayer to God today.
Psalm 86:5-16: “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. 6 Hear my prayer, LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. 7 When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me. 8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. 9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. 10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. 11 Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness;give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
On the count of three let’s begin. 1-2-3.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead. 14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me— they have no regard for you. 15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. 16 Turn to me and have mercy on me…”
Oh God, you are great. Oh God, you are marvelous. What makes you great and marvelous is your willingness to be CGStoA and abounding in love & faithfulness. Thank you for showing us you’re your love through Jesus. In the name of God the Father, the Son and the Spirit, we pray, Amen.
Last Sunday I began a new series called “God is!” Dr. Tim Mackie said that a description of God is repeated throughout the Old Testament some 27 times. The first time this description appears is in Exodus 34: 6&7. (Read) We see it again in the prayer we just prayed from Psalm 86. David said this in verse 15. Psalm 86:15: But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. God’s greatest demonstration of compassion is seen in Jesus. For God so loved the world… God’s greatest demonstration of grace is also seen in Jesus. God made a way for us to be forgiven. That way is Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth & the life. What does it mean that God is slow to anger?
Meet Marilyn Hartman. For nearly 20 years, Marilyn flew the world over without a ticket. She’s known as America’s serial stowaway which is crazy to think about since we live in a post 9-11 society. In a CBS interview last March, Marilyn said she had boarded planes without a ticket on at least 30 occasions. “The first time I was able to get through, I flew to Copenhagen. The second time, I flew into Paris.” But that’s not all. Marilyn has flown to Jacksonville, Seattle, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Minneapolis, San Francisco and even London without a ticket or a passport. Marilyn was successful sometimes, but failed most times. She has been arrested often. Her last arrest came two months ago at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on charges of criminal trespassing and felony escape. Her presence at O’Hare violated terms of her 2019 probation. Which stated – stay away from all airports. Her lawyer said, “Marilyn has a mental illness that was triggered by something out of her control.”[i]
Can you imagine if Marilyn was your Mom, sister or friend? Constantly trying to board a plane without a ticket. It happened once, then 5 times and then 12 times. How many times would it take before you felt frustration and anger? C’mon, stop doing this. When God describes himself as “slow to anger” what he’s saying is that he’s “long of nose.”[ii] When we get angry our noses flare. They enlarge. I’m so mad at you! God’s proverbial nose stays calm. Slow to anger means God’s patient.
How are you doing when it comes to being patient? I’m thankful that God is slow to anger and not quick to anger. Now maybe you are wondering, why does God get angry at all? First, He loves us. God will not sit back and watch his creation/his children just walk away from him or suffer injustice. Second, realize that anger is not a sin, but anger can lead us to sin. But not God, because God cannot be tempted by evil, nor can He sin.
The Apostle Peter gives us two pivotal examples of God being “slow to anger.” Let’s consider those two and then let’s get super practical. Peter’s first example is Noah. God was slow to anger while Noah was building the ark. This is 1st Peter 3:18. (Read 18-20a) Call me crazy but I believe Noah existed. The reason I do is because Peter said Noah existed and so did the Hebrew writer. This is Hebrews 11:7. Jesus said Noah existed. This is Matthew 24:37. (Read 37-39) Jesus said Noah existed and the flood came in an instant. There was no rain and then the rain came and one day Jesus will return & he will reign! The ones taken had put their faith, their trust in Jesus. Have you? Will Two men will be in a field. One will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain. One will be taken and the other left. you. Moses tells us that Noah existed. This is Genesis 5:32. Let’s drop down to Genesis 6:11-14. This is a picture of the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY. It’s dimensions are biblical and staggering - 510’ long, 85’ wide, 51’ high. Something that big is going to get someone’s attention. Moses continues in Genesis 7:6. It takes a hundred years to build the ark. That whole time Noah is warning people to turn to God. Noah doesn’t warn them for a week, a month or a year. He warns them for 10 decades because God is slow to anger. What will it take for you to believe that God exists? That he’s compassionate & gracious? That’s He’s slow to anger?
Peter gives us a second example – it’s the Second Coming of Jesus. This is 2nd Peter 3:1. (Read 1-9) Do you ever wonder? Jesus, what’s taking so long? Why won’t you come back? Come begin your reign. You defeated Satan on the cross. Send him to hell where he belongs. Split the sky in half. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus! God is slow to anger. He wants to give everyone – even the most hard-hearted person – your friend, your spouse, your child, the opportunity to repent. To turn to God. His patience enables our rescue, our salvation.
Peter goes on to say this in 2ndPeter 3:14. (Read) Peter wants us to live in eager expectation that Jesus will return a second time. The best way for people to see God is for them to see God in us. How do we do that? If God is slow to anger, wouldn’t it make sense for US to do what He does? Just a few pages before Peter’s two letters, a letter was written by a man named James. James is Jesus brother, same mother, different father. James said this in James 1:19. (Read 19-20) Remember, anger is not a sin, but anger can lead us to sin. It’s time for us to get practical. So what, Pastor. God’s slow to anger. Why does that matter? If He were quick to anger none of us would be here. It means God is giving people more time to believe in him. Plus, God wants to change us. To learn how to love people as God loves us and Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 13 that love is not easily angered.
Can you imagine how different our world would be if we were slow to anger instead of being quick to get angry? A fight broke out at a Houston Astros baseball game on May 26. An Astros fan punched this Dodger’s fan. The one with the Mookie Betts jersey. That Dodger fan went ballistic. Notice his 2-year-old daughter is sitting right here. Video shows her just balling.[iii] Three guys became angry over comments made about their stupid baseball teams. How many parents are ruining youth sports leagues because they are so quick to get angry? When you see a Democrat or a Republican in the news, do you instantly get mad?
The date was May 31, 1921. 100 hundred years ago the Tulsa Massacre happened.[iv] If hundreds of white people would have been slow to become angry, it may not have happened at all.
We receive many online prayer requests from people. One heart-breaking prayer request came on May 28. Annalise was 3 months old when God brought her home to heal her from injuries she received while in the care of a babysitter. After almost 2½ years, they are finally going to trial to hopefully bring justice to the person who inflicted these injuries. The trial begins June 1st and the family will have to testify and relive that horrific time in their lives. Have you ever wanted to shake a baby because you were mad or tired or both? Would Annalise be alive if someone would have decided to be slow to anger that day?
My goal as a minister is not just to present information. It’s to show us through God’s word and the Holy Spirit how we can be transformed from the inside out. All of us are going to be tempted to get angry today! Not all anger is bad. If you see some guy beating his dog. You have to say something. You see someone beating their child you HAVE to do something. Jesus would.
Greg, why does it matter if I get angry all the time? It goes back to what James said in James 1:20. (Read) Anger will prevent people from seeing Jesus in you. It goes back to what Peter said in 2ndPeter 3:9. (Read) Repent means to turn to God. Almost all people turn to God because someone loved them enough to become their friend. How can we lead people to Jesus if we’re angry all the time? It goes back to what Jesus said in Matthew 24. Two men will be in the field. One will be taken, they other left. Two women will be grinding grain, one will be taken, one will be left.
I have two invitations for you. First, one day Jesus is going to come back. I invite you to put your faith in the Son of God, because no one was more slow to anger than Jesus. He could have crushed his persecutors. He chose to forgive them instead. Jesus has forgiven me. Would you trust him to forgive you? Would you be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins? 8-year-old Michaela Smith will be baptized in just a few minutes. My second invitation is to be brave enough to ask this question from Author Jeff Henderson. What is it like to be on the other side of me? Ask someone you love, someone you trust this question. Do I have an anger problem? Listen to what they say. Turn to Jesus for help. Turn to someone who loves Jesus to help you. God can change any angry heart! Close in prayer.
Decisions:
June 6 - Michaela Smith baptism
[i] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/us/serial-stowaway-marilyn-hartman.html?searchResultPosition=1
[ii] https://weekly.israelbiblecenter.com/god-long-nose/
[iii] https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Dodgers-fan-fight-Astros-brawl-Minute-Maid-Park-16207233.php
[iv] https://www.denisonforum.org/columns/daily-article/the-tulsa-race-massacre-a-century-later-if-we-are-the-body-why-arent-his-arms-reaching/