Guest Speaker: Andy Watts

Anger: Truths from the Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5:21-26 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. ____________________________________________________________ - Anger causes pain and death. - Jesus is saying that though we get angry, we should get over it quickly. - We should handle our anger how God handles anger. The difference between his anger and our anger is righteousness. Psalm 30:5 - Righteousness simply means that we are in a right-standing with God, by our faith in Jesus Christ. - Matthew 5:6; we should have a yearning for Christ's righteousness. As we are filled with His righteousness, we will be convicted of things we have said or done in anger, and must take the opportunity to go be reconciled. - We should do this with grace, humility, and being pure of heart. - Even we do not get the results we expect, we have obeyed God. Thus we have avoided judgment, but have, more importantly, strengthened our relationship with Christ. - If we handle anger our way, it leads to pain, payment, and imprisonment. If we do it God's way, it strengthens our faith, our hope, and we get to walk in God's freedom.