Hasty Words (7 of 12)

Mike Connell

But it's like when goals are blocked, we can't get what we want, we get angry and all it is is my goal is blocked, because I believe I have a right to have my goals achieved when and how I want. That's the heart belief. You change that belief, you'll change the behaviour, see? The reality is, we live in a world where there's all kinds of things block us and hinder us. Everyone gets blocked and hindered. The thing is, if you've got an attitude like Jesus, His attitude was, I came with no expectation it would all work out good. I came with an expectation I would give My life to make things better - different mentality, if we didn't get outraged or angered by things that people did.

Badly treated - we get badly treated, we get well, I've got a right to be treated right. I haven't been treated fair, it's not fair! That's what kids say isn't it? It's not fair! Get over it, life isn't fair. Lots of things aren't fair, but God doesn't actually treat us fairly either. He treats us justly. That's a different thing from being fair. Fair means we get what everyone - you know kids, to be fair you've got to count up the strawberries that go on the plate to make sure it's fair, make sure everyone got the same number, see? Okay, we getting there? So injustice. Injustice, when we feel we've been treated unjustly, and of course injustice abounds in the world. That's the thing that really racks us up, and gets us going. So maybe someone's shouted at you, misunderstood you, did this, did that. Whatever it is, there's a perceived injustice. What the core of it is, I have a right to be treated better than this, now I'm angry.

Now I would say just this: if you were stirred up about the injustices others have, probably it's more near to God's sense of anger, how He gets angry. If you're really wound up about your own stuff, probably it's less justification for it. You need to learn how to get over it, so how do we get over it? Let me just give you a couple of simple scriptures, and I'll give you four or five simple steps what to do practically, okay?

So 1 Peter, Chapter 2, we'll find the scripture and then I'll show you just what you do. So we don't want to be murderers. We've already got a lot of people convicted of murder here today. [Laughs] We don't need to be all free of being convicted of murder. Repent of your sin, and if you've really injured people by your anger, go put it right with them, that would be the simplest thing to do, and then start to work on your life. But here's the core of it here, and it's found in 1 Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 21. Here it is, and it says for this you were called, because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example we should walk in His steps. Remember the example of Jesus, how unjustly He was treated? He committed no sin, neither was there any deceit found in His mouth - Verse 23 - when He was abused, He didn't abuse in return. When He suffered, He didn't threaten. Notice what He did: He committed Himself to the one who judges righteously. In other words, this is what He did. When He was on the receiving end of bad treatment, instead of arising in anger, and using His power to hurt people and retaliate, or prove He was right, He committed His soul to the one who judges rightly. In other words He let His rights go to the Father, and that freed Him from the emotions, so He could then have a spirit-led response.

Did He get angry? He did get angry. He got angry in a church actually. He got angry at the church people, when they had no heart for the broken people, but He didn't actually take it out on them. He just used the anger, and He healed the person who was sick. See, He addressed the problem, addressed the issue. You find the same thing again in 1 Peter, Chapter 4, Verse 19. It says the same thing. Let those who suffer according to the will of God, commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator. So here's the core issue. The core issue behind anger, somewhere I perceive my rights have been overruled or violated. I need to commit my rights to the Lord, and allow Him to be the just judge on it, and that frees me then to listen to what He wants me to do.