The Danger of Self-Powered Anger Management

• Anger and its consequences 00:24:15 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor introduces the topic of anger, citing FBI stats on violent crime and domestic violence to illustrate the staggering damage of mishandled anger.
• Internal vs. External Righteousness 00:26:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts external actions (murder) with internal states (anger), referencing Jesus' sermon on the mount to show that anger itself is subject to judgment.
• Spiritual Maturity and Irritability 00:30:36 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses Dallas Willard's teaching to suggest that spiritual growth can be measured by a decrease in irritability levels.
• Anger and Righteousness 00:30:00 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites James 1:19-20 to establish that human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires, urging believers to be quick to listen and slow to anger.
• Righteous Anger vs. Sinful Anger 00:31:35 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor distinguishes between 'human anger' which is sinful, and 'righteous anger' modeled by Jesus and God, which flows from perfect love and justice against evil.
• Anger Management Styles 00:35:27 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor categorizes different ways people express anger, including the 'trash compactor' (stuffer), the 'ventilator' (exploder), the 'prosecuting attorney' (arguer), and the 'stealth bomber' (passive-aggressive).
• The Dangers of Unresolved Anger 00:38:34 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor warns that letting anger fester gives the devil a foothold and poisons one's life, citing Ephesians 4 to urge believers to take anger 'to the curb' and forgive.
• Types of Angry People 00:42:24 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor categorizes different expressions of anger, including the 'prosecutor,' 'stealth bomber' (passive-aggressive), and others, using biblical references like Proverbs 20:3 and Proverbs 17:14 to warn against quarreling.
• Reflect Before You React 00:44:34 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor introduces the first practical step for handling anger: reflecting on the root cause rather than reacting immediately, explaining that anger is often a 'second emotion' masking deeper hurts like loneliness or disappointment.
• Remember the Results 00:50:23 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor advises considering the long-term consequences of angry actions, urging the congregation to 'play the video all the way out' to see the damage caused by sin and dissension, citing Proverbs 29:22 and Proverbs 11:29.
• Restrain Your Remarks 00:52:58 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor discusses the power and danger of the tongue, citing James 3 and Ephesians 4:29 to emphasize the need for self-control and building others up rather than speaking unwholesome talk.
• Taming the Tongue 00:54:12 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor discusses the difficulty of controlling speech, citing James 3:5-6, and applies it to modern social media behavior.
• Divine Enablement for Speech 00:55:19 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that taming the tongue is impossible without God's help, requiring humility and reliance on the Holy Spirit.
• Practical Application of Gentle Speech 00:55:58 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor provides specific scenarios (traffic, spouse, work) where believers must apply the principle of a gentle answer to avoid stirring up anger.
• The Voluntary Sacrifice of Jesus 01:00:06 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts the murder of Jesus with His voluntary laying down of His life, emphasizing His power and love as the basis for forgiveness.

• Sermon Illustration 00:28:20 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts a story from his youth managing a basketball league where a man in the 'C league' choked an 18-year-old referee over a timeout call, resulting in assault charges and the loss of his executive job.
• Sermon Illustration 00:30:36 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about Dallas Willard gauging spiritual maturity by irritability levels, and his own realization that anxiety and irritability signal a heart issue not from God.
• Sermon Illustration 00:32:12 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts Jesus cleansing the temple, flipping tables and driving out animals because religious leaders were scamming poor people with inflated prices for sacrifices.
• Sermon Illustration 00:35:47 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a trash compactor to describe those who stuff their anger, illustrating it with a story about a trash can left in the hot sun for two weeks that became a 'science project' smelling of death.
• Sermon Illustration 00:36:32 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recites Shel Silverstein's poem 'Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out' to illustrate how buried anger eventually becomes toxic and overwhelming.
• Sermon Illustration 00:40:12 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes the 'ventilator' anger style, listing behaviors like yelling, screaming, punching drywall, and posting angry things on social media with all caps and exclamation points.
• Sermon Illustration 00:42:18 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes the 'prosecuting attorney' anger style, where individuals dig up dirt, keep records of past wrongs, and use verbal skills to make others feel like 'dirty, rotten scoundrels' until justice is served.
• Sermon Illustration 00:43:12 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes the 'stealth bomber' anger style, characterized by passive-aggressive sarcasm and 'heat-seeking missiles' of wit that fly below the radar before striking.
• Sermon Illustration 00:45:14 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a wife who is 'foot stomping mad' because her husband is late, illustrating how her anger is a 'second emotion' masking deeper feelings of loneliness, disappointment, and feeling unappreciated.
• Sermon Illustration 00:48:25 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references David's prayer in Psalm 139, noting that David expresses intense anger towards the wicked before asking God to 'search me,' using this to show that acknowledging anger is part of the process of seeking God's help.
• Sermon Illustration 00:56:50 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts a personal story of being pulled over for expired tags, feeling angry, and choosing to pay the ticket with a smile instead of arguing, which resulted in a positive interaction with the clerk.
• Sermon Illustration 01:00:29 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a 'cold-blooded calculated murder' to describe the crucifixion, contrasting it with Jesus' voluntary submission to death.

• Pastoral Charge 00:29:42 ▶️ 📄
  > Take out phones to screenshot scripture or jot them down to revisit during the week.
• Pastoral Charge 00:35:09 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asks the congregation to evaluate their personal anger management styles and how they typically react.
• Pastoral Charge 00:39:40 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor commands the congregation to remove bitterness and anger and actively practice kindness and forgiveness.
• Pastoral Charge 00:44:24 ▶️ 📄
  > Get proactive about anger management and ask the Holy Spirit for help to respond in a God-honoring way.
• Pastoral Charge 00:47:24 ▶️ 📄
  > Reflect before reacting, identify the root emotion, and initiate honest conversations instead of exploding.
• Pastoral Charge 00:47:50 ▶️ 📄
  > Admit anger early, pause to reflect, and pray Psalm 139 to examine one's heart.
• Pastoral Charge 00:49:45 ▶️ 📄
  > Honestly acknowledge anger, identify the deeper issue, and ask God for help to react appropriately.
• Pastoral Charge 00:50:23 ▶️ 📄
  > Stop in the moment, recognize the choice, and handle the situation appropriately in a God-honoring way.
• Pastoral Charge 00:51:01 ▶️ 📄
  > Play the 'video all the way out' by visualizing the long-term consequences and potential trauma of angry actions.
• Pastoral Charge 00:52:27 ▶️ 📄
  > Internalize scriptures, stop in the moment, and ask the Holy Spirit for self-control, compassion, and patience.
• Pastoral Charge 00:55:19 ▶️ 📄
  > Live in awareness of God's presence, humble oneself, renew the mind daily to God's word, and apply the teachings.
• Pastoral Charge 00:55:39 ▶️ 📄
  > Renew the mind daily to God's word and fill the heart with specific verses to aid in self-control.
• Pastoral Charge 00:56:07 ▶️ 📄
  > Memorize the verse regarding gentle answers.
• Pastoral Charge 00:56:36 ▶️ 📄
  > Internalize the verse about gentle answers.
• Pastoral Charge 00:59:32 ▶️ 📄
  > Reflect before reacting and pray for humility, honesty, confidence, courage, gentleness, and restraint.
• Pastoral Charge 01:03:06 ▶️ 📄
  > Cooperate with God to remove negative traits, memorize/read scriptures, and stop speaking in anger.

[00:00:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:03] Hey, Church Online. Welcome. I'm Jeremy Prather, campus pastor at our Forney campus.
[00:00:09] I'm so glad to be with you today. If this is your first time, listen, maybe you found us through Live Free.
[00:00:16] Maybe a friend sent you a link. Maybe the algorithm actually did something right for once.
[00:00:22] Whatever brought you here, we believe that God is in it.
[00:00:26] So welcome. You picked a great weekend to jump in. And if you found us through Live Free, listen, here's something that you should know.
[00:00:33] What you're about to hear today on the weekend service and what drops Monday on the podcast, those work together.
[00:00:41] The weekend lays a foundation and then live free goes deeper.
[00:00:45] It's a rhythm that'll stretch your faith in the best way.
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[00:00:56] We see you from all over the country, all over the world.
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[00:01:01] right now go ahead and drop your city in the chat let us know where you're watching from and I want to talk to those of you watching from the DFW area because if you're local I've got something
[00:01:12] for you church online listen praise God it's a gift but it was never meant to be the finish line God designed you for a church that you can walk into a place where people know your name where
[00:01:25] you can grow in community and where if you don't show up, somebody actually notices. I've seen it happen. Two friends, one lived in the Forney area, very close to a campus, another an hour away. They
[00:01:38] began watching church online and live free somewhat infrequently. The person in Forney decided he was going to come to the Forney campus. The friend that's an hour away drove an hour just so his friend would not come to church for the very first time alone. Way to go. The guy who
[00:01:54] came is Nick. Nick gave his life to Christ this past Easter. He jumped into Rooted to take steps in growing in his relationship. And this past weekend in Forney, Nick was baptized, man. So shout out, Nick. We see you. We're proud of you. Nick has taken steps in his faith, and we want
[00:02:12] that so desperately for every single one of you. So if you're anywhere near Forney or the east side of the Metroplex, hey, come see us.
[00:02:20] I'm there every weekend.
[00:02:22] I would love to meet you, to get to know your story, to help you take your next step.
[00:02:28] You don't have to have it all figured out.
[00:02:30] Just come.
[00:02:31] And hey, if Saturday works better for your schedule, we've got you covered.
[00:02:35] Our Rockwall and Firewheel campuses, they both have Saturday service at four and 5.30.
[00:02:42] And in Forney, we have it at 5 p.m.
[00:02:45] Saturdays are for church too.
[00:02:47] So just find the time that fits and come.
[00:02:50] All right, our hosts are live.
[00:02:52] They're in the chat.
[00:02:53] Our prayer team is standing by.
[00:02:55] If something heavy has been laying on your heart right now, you can text prayer to 20411 and our team will pray for you this week.
[00:03:05] Take a breath.
[00:03:06] Let's lean in.
[00:03:07] It's time to worship.

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:03:08] Listen, it's so good to be in the house of the Lord in person or online.
[00:04:04] Listen, when I think of the goodness of Jesus, I can't help but lift up a praise because he's worthy of all glory and adoration and family we're gonna do just that right now come on let's sing together I have felt the hands that bear the
[00:04:20] scars reach down and rescue me and I have known the love of the father's heart for prodigal now redeemed from where i was to where i'm now i see you move but praise the name of jesus

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:07:50] and we have a new song for this house speaks about singing the name of jesus speaking the name of jesus and i don't know how you walked into this home today don't know what circumstance
[00:08:03] you've been through but if there's one thing that i can encourage you is to call in the name of jesus the name of jesus brings salvation heals and restores i want to invite you if we can just
[00:08:14] lift up our hands and say father god you're worthy this morning you're worthy of our praise and we open up our hearts to you the most beautiful praises

[00:08:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:08:26] feet lord let's sing it out to him your name sweet name oh it's sweeter every time that i call

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:09:00] there's just something about your name there's just something about your name there's just

[00:09:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:09:10] something about your name makes me cry and we'll never stop like we'll never stop it's amazing

[00:17:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:17:28] church you can have a seat as we get to celebrate his power on display through baptism hey lake

[00:17:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:17:36] point i am so excited for this one this is kylie and her dad kylie have you trusted in jesus as savior and lord of your life amen with my honor and your father's honor to baptize you the name

[00:17:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:17:48] of the father the son and the holy spirit hey lake point family welcome welcome welcome to lake point church online hey we're so glad that you are here well hey we're in a season right now
[00:18:06] where god is doing amazing things through this online community by the grace of god our reach is growing more people are finding us more people are engaging online more people are taking steps And honestly, that is amazing.
[00:18:18] But one thing I want to just continue to encourage you, one thing that we will consider is reach without roots doesn't last.
[00:18:25] And so Lakewood family, it is by God's grace that we can come together as a church online family, watch every sermon, listen to every episode of the podcast, engage with every post.
[00:18:35] And at the same time, we want to continue to encourage you to continue to find a spot for you to be rooted in because we believe that God didn't design us to be Christians in isolation.
[00:18:46] And so here's what the writer of Hebrews says.
[00:18:48] He says, let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.
[00:18:54] And so that right there is an invitation to continue to move towards something deeper.
[00:18:59] And so here's what I'm asking you today.
[00:19:01] If you are in the DFW area, I want you to take your next step.
[00:19:05] Visit a campus this weekend.
[00:19:06] You don't even have to wait till Sunday.
[00:19:08] Our Rockwell, Forney Inn, Firewall campuses have Saturday services as well because Saturdays are for church.
[00:19:13] find your spot at lakepoint.church slash locations now if you're here and maybe you're outside the dfw area we also want you planted as well text right now the word maps to 20411 and our team
[00:19:28] will point you toward a local church near you and we help people from coast to coast get connected to churches also before we get into today's message i want to take a second to say thank you
[00:19:38] because of your generosity hundreds of students across our campuses are headed to camp this summer and that's not just a trip for some of these students it'll be the first time they hear the gospel clearly for some it'll be the moment everything changes and here's what you need to
[00:19:53] know your giving makes that possible and so if you want to keep being a part of what god is doing through lake point you can text the word give to two zero four one one or you can also visit
[00:20:04] lakepoint.church slash giving lake point family thank you because lives are being changed and today you and i get to be a part of it hey right now there is more happening in life of our church
[00:20:16] and of course we don't want you to miss out so check out lp news hey lake point summer blast is

[00:20:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:20:24] just over one week away on june 16th through the 18th if your child just completed kindergarten through fourth grade they're in for three incredible days of games worship bible stories and tons of fun it's completely free and there's still time to register text blast to 20411 to
[00:20:42] secure your child spot now hey parents of high schoolers there's just one week left to sign up for high school united camp on june 25th through the 29th registration closes on sunday june 14th though and you won't want to miss this impactful week if you haven't signed up yet don't wait
[00:20:59] Text CAMP to 20411 to register now.
[00:21:04] And Student Baptism Weekend is coming up on July 18th and the 19th.
[00:21:08] If you're a student or if you have a middle schooler or high schooler who has recently accepted Christ, this is your moment to go public with your faith.
[00:21:18] To take this next step of faith, text LIFE to 20411.
[00:21:22] Now, let's dive into our new series, En Fuego.

[00:21:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:21:25] Hi, what's up, everybody?
[00:21:57] Hey, great to see you all.
[00:21:57] welcome. Welcome to Lake Point. Welcome all of our campuses. Those of you that might be joining us online as well, man, super grateful for all of y'all. My name is Bro, by the way, and I get to be on the teaching team. And it is June, so you know what that means.
[00:22:12] You're stuck with me for like the next four weeks, so sorry. I don't know that. Yeah, I know. I know some of y'all, some of y'all like you come to a football game and you go, oh, the backup
[00:22:23] quarterbacks playing? I don't know, man. Hey, Josh will tell you the same thing. It's very little to do with the messenger, everything to do with the message. The word of God is living and active. It penetrates our soul. The Holy Spirit's always speaking to you and me. And God wants to
[00:22:41] put us on his potter's wheel and mold us and shape us and chisel us into his best version of us. And I'm praying that God's going to do that in all of us over the next four weeks. We're kicking off a
[00:22:53] series today that we're calling En Fuego. And it's all about fire. And I got the idea from several different sources. I remember the late Stuart Scott of ESPN, he would do SportsCenter and he would do highlights. And if like a shooter got really hot, like Steph Curry would hit like
[00:23:11] six in a row or something like that, he would just scream, En Fuego. I remember Taco Bell doing a marketing campaign about some really spicy thing that they were trying to pitch. And they would
[00:23:22] always say en fuego. My buddy Mark has a cigar shop where some guys hang out on Saturday nights and light up and talk about God. And he calls his cigar shop en fuego. You talk to some of the
[00:23:34] police officers around here who serve us so faithfully every weekend, they'll tell you when the heat and humidity start to rise this time of year, crime goes en fuego. So in the coming weeks, we're going to talk about fire. We're going to talk about being consumed with passion,
[00:23:50] burning white hot for God and for life. We're going to talk about how God can even use the very tough things we have to go through through life to refine our character, much like fire
[00:24:02] refines gold and purifies it. But these first two weeks, we're going to talk about a fire called anger. Because it seems like we are living in the age of rage, doesn't it?
[00:24:15] I mean, all kinds of polarization, all kinds of factions and feuds and division and discord.
[00:24:23] I mean, it seems like everybody's mad at somebody, right?
[00:24:27] So let me ask y'all, who are you mad at?
[00:24:32] You say right now, you for bringing up this topic, right?
[00:24:36] Well, I'm just going to have to deal with your anger because I think this is way too important for us to ignore because the damage that mishandled, mismanaged anger does in our world, in our city, in our
[00:24:48] neighborhood, in our homes is absolutely staggering. The latest stats from the FBI crime clock says in our country, there's a violent crime every 26 seconds, an aggravated assault every 38 seconds, a robbery every two minutes, a rape every four minutes. Domestic violence is the
[00:25:07] number one cause of emergency room visits for women. 1,500 people are killed or injured every year in cases of road rage. Can you say en fuego? And there are tons of television shows and series
[00:25:20] that revolve around like a homicide of some sort. You got all the date lines and the 48 hours and the 2020s and crime documentaries on Netflix and Prime, all usually unpacking a story about a
[00:25:31] murder, which by the way, happens every 31 minutes in our country. And I'm not a real big fan of those shows. And I'm certainly not a fan of like horror movies or slasher type films. I don't see
[00:25:42] why Hollywood keeps cranking them out, to be honest with you. But I do remember one scary movie years ago. Actually, it was more suspenseful that it was scary. And I don't remember like anything about
[00:25:54] the movie. I can't remember anything about it, but I do remember the title of it. What Lies Beneath.
[00:26:01] That just sounds scary, doesn't it? Well, long before that movie, Jesus stands up and preaches this famous sermon from a mountainside that was laser focused on what lies beneath. And he spoke it into a culture, much like ours, where external image was everything. So Jesus goes below the
[00:26:25] surface to the heart of the matter, which is always a matter of the heart. And check out what he says about murder. You have heard that our ancestors were told, you must not murder. If you
[00:26:39] commit murder, you are subject to judgment. But I say to you, even if you are angry with someone, you're subject to judgment. If you call someone an idiot, you're in danger of being brought before
[00:26:51] the court. And if you curse someone, you're in danger of the fires of hell. So Jesus here is saying, you don't have to wield a blade, pull a trigger, detonate a bomb to be guilty of murder.
[00:27:02] it's all about what lies beneath. It's all about the anger that resides in our hearts.
[00:27:12] Now, I've been learning it's really hard to move through your life in a God-honoring way when you got a heart full of anger. Well, you're always living with a short fuse and you're always starting stuff with people. You're getting frustrated and flipping people off in traffic
[00:27:26] and you're always saying little things that set your kids off or you're trying to intentionally get under your parents' skin, when it seems like you're always in a disagreement, some kind of argument with your spouse, with your brother, with your sister, with your coworkers, with your
[00:27:39] teammates, with your neighbors, with your parents, with your in-laws. Jesus is saying, listen, if that's the case, you're going to live a miserable, even hellish existence. You see, according to Jesus, hell is a present condition with future implications. So Jesus is warning you and me,
[00:27:59] you keep this up and you'll just become a bitter, resentful old man, old woman who finds no joy in life because you lived your life all locked up in a self-imposed prison of unresolved anger.
[00:28:13] It's a big deal. I can remember years and years ago, I was young, had hair and everything.
[00:28:20] And I was in charge of a basketball league for our city. It was like 30, 40 churches that put together this league and I was, I was running the league and we had a, we had an A league and a B
[00:28:32] league and a C league. The A league was for guys that just got out of college and they could still hoop. The B league was for guys who thought they still could hoop. And then there was a C league
[00:28:41] for guys to just acknowledge. I'm not good anymore. I just want to run up and down, jog up and down the floor and have a good time. Well, I get a, I get a phone call about an incident that happened
[00:28:49] in our C league. This guy got angry and choked an 18 year old referee. So I got the guy's number and called him up and said, what's going on? The guy goes, well, he wouldn't give me a timeout.
[00:29:03] I went, seriously? Are you in the C-League? Yes. He wouldn't give me a timeout. He said, you choked him? Well, the 18-year-old referee filed charges, assault charges on this guy, and this guy ends up losing his executive level job with a nationally known company.
[00:29:20] Anger. Anger and rage can take you out of a job. It can take you out of a friendship.
[00:29:26] It can take you out of a marriage.
[00:29:28] It can take you out of a family in a heartbeat.
[00:29:30] It can hurt a whole lot of people and cause your own soul to implode in the process.
[00:29:36] So we got to talk about this.
[00:29:39] Now we're going to see, I'm talking a ton of scripture today.
[00:29:42] So you might just want to take out your phone and screenshot them along the way, or you can jot them down as fast as you can and revisit them this week.
[00:29:49] But these couple of verses are going to be our key verses for the next two weeks anyway.
[00:29:53] Jesus' brother James writes a little letter.
[00:29:56] It's tucked in the back of the New Testament.
[00:29:58] And he says this about anger.
[00:30:00] He says, understand this, my dear brothers and sisters.
[00:30:03] You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
[00:30:08] Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.
[00:30:13] Let me read that again.
[00:30:15] Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters.
[00:30:17] You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to get angry, because human anger does not produce the righteous life that God desires. I heard the late Dallas Willard talk one time about how he would gauge his spiritual growth and maturity by his irritability
[00:30:36] levels. And when I heard him say that, man, that resonated personally with me because most of the time, man, I'm a pretty easygoing laid back kind of guy. I don't get worked up about much. I can
[00:30:48] pretty easily let stuff roll off of me, but I can always tell when things aren't quite right in my heart. It's when anxiety chases away my peace and frustration and irritability starts to build up in
[00:31:01] me. It's when a angry, less than wholesome word comes out of my mouth that I normally wouldn't use. It just comes out of me when that happens. I know, man, there's something else. There's something else going on in me that didn't come from God. There's something here that's not quite
[00:31:16] right. So I understand why Dallas wrote, to cut the root of anger is to wither the tree of human evil. I think it's that important. Jesus said, it's what lies beneath. Now the good news is that
[00:31:35] there is a way to cut the root of anger. There is a way to be appropriately passionate. There is a way to experience the emotion of anger without throwing a fit, frying pan, finger, or fist.
[00:31:45] there is a way to be angry and not sin there is a way to manage this emotion in a god-honoring way now i need to qualify all this by by saying anger in and of itself is an honest emotion it's been
[00:31:59] hard hardwired into us by our very passionate god we are created in his image so we have this capacity for feeling anger scripture in fact 256 of them tell us that sometimes god gets angry now
[00:32:12] he's slow to get angry and he's full of compassion and abounding love, but God gets angry. You might remember how Jesus one time saw religious leaders scamming people in the name of God and they were
[00:32:22] cheating all these poor people by telling them that the sacrifices that they brought to the temple were not acceptable and then forcing them to purchase their pre-approved, blemish-free temple sacrifices at jacked up prices. Well, Jesus stands there and watches for as long as he can
[00:32:37] and his nostrils begin to flare in the face of injustice. And he starts flipping over tables and driving out animals and scattering their money everywhere. And he says, my father's house is supposed to be for prayer and worship. And here you are ripping off poor people in his name.
[00:32:53] So God has a righteous kind of anger, a healthy kind of anger, the kind that flows from his perfect love and his perfect justice, the kind that absolutely hates evil. I mean, if you can watch like news reports, some of the atrocities that are going on in our world and not
[00:33:10] feel the same righteous anger that Jesus felt that day, and there's just something wrong inside of you. Like if you don't feel angry over children being used and abused or discarded, if something doesn't stir within you, when you hear about another senseless shooting or the exploitation
[00:33:29] and trafficking of young women, or the scamming of older people, or blatant racism or terrorism, then your heart has grown immensely apathetic. Some things anger God, they ought to anger us who are made in his image. Now we got to channel that anger and respond in an appropriate way and
[00:33:48] leave the ultimate vengeance to God, but evil oppression and injustice ought to make us angry.
[00:33:54] And you know what? Sometimes anger even energizes us to do the right thing. A bunch of addicts that I know got to the point in their life where they finally just got mad about their life and the pain
[00:34:07] it was causing all the people in their life. And they say, you know what? Enough. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. And they humbled themselves and checked into rehab or they got in
[00:34:17] a group. So just being angry is not bad or sinful. Sometimes it can unleash passion and motivate us to do some very good things. But here's the deal. The Greek philosopher Aristotle said this over
[00:34:30] 2,000 years ago. Anyone can become angry. That's easy. But to be angry with the right person to the right degree at the right time for the right purpose in the right way, that's not easy. And I
[00:34:43] don't have to tell you all, but way too often we are not angry with the right person to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, in the right way. Most of the time, it is en fuego,
[00:34:54] this fire raging out of control. And if we are serious about becoming God's best version of us, and I think we are, we got to get a handle on the anger that lies beneath. And since all of us do
[00:35:09] want to get better at this, I think we ought to start with a little self-evaluation. That'd be okay with y'all? What's your anger management style? How do you express your anger? How do you react most of the time? Now, I'm sure there are many different styles of anger expression,
[00:35:27] but which one of these honestly most closely describes you? Maybe you would be described as the trash compactor. The trash compactor, you just stuff it down. I got back from vacation last summer, realized I forgot to take the trash can to the curb before I left. And it'd already been
[00:35:47] sitting there for a week because I forgot to take it down the week before. So when I got home, it was ripe. I mean, so ripe. I've been sitting in the hot sun for two weeks. It had turned into
[00:35:55] like a science project. It smelled like something had died while eating like bad cheese and dead fish. It was just, it was so, so nasty. And guess what? Anger that gets stuffed, it gets like that.
[00:36:09] people who stuff their anger deny their angry feelings or bury it deep within them often become powders and you ask what's wrong oh nothing everybody knows something's wrong because they can smell it anger stuffed always leaks in middle school our kids had to memorize
[00:36:32] shel silverstein's sarah cynthia sylvia stout have you heard this you you might know it's a Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout would not take the garbage out.
[00:36:43] She scowled the pots and scraped the pans and candied the yams and spiced the hams.
[00:36:47] And though her dad would scream and shout, she would not take the garbage out.
[00:36:53] And so it piled up to the ceilings, coffee grounds, potato peelings, brown bananas, rotten peas, chunks of sour cottage cheese.
[00:37:01] It filled the can.
[00:37:02] It covered the floor.
[00:37:03] It cracked the window.
[00:37:04] had blocked the door. With bacon rinds and chicken bones, drippy ends of ice cream cones, prune pits, peach pits, orange peel, gloppy clumps of cold oatmeal, pizza crust with withered greens, soggy beans, and tangerines, crust of black-burned buttered toast, grizzly bits of beefy roast.
[00:37:22] The garbage rolled down the hall. It raised the roof. It broke the wall. Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs, globs of gooey bubble gum, cellophane from green bologna, rubbery blubbery macaroni, peanut butter caked and dry, curdled milk and crust of pie, moldy melons dried up,
[00:37:39] mustard, eggshells mixed with lemon custard, cold french fries and rancid meat, yellow lumps of cream of wheat. At last the garbage reached so high that finally it touched the sky and all the neighbors moved away and none of her friends would come to play. And finally Sarah sent the
[00:37:59] Sylvia Stout, said, okay, I'll take the garbage out. But then of course it was too late. The garbage reached across the state from New York to the Golden Gate. And there in the garbage she did
[00:38:12] hate, poor Sarah met an awful fate. So children remember Sarah Stout and always take the garbage out. Yeah, the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Paul puts it like this in Ephesians chapter four, and don't sin by letting anger gain control over you.
[00:38:34] Don't let the sun go down while you're still angry.
[00:38:37] Don't stuff it.
[00:38:37] You take the garbage out.
[00:38:40] For anger gives a mighty foothold to the devil.
[00:38:45] Somebody once told me the difference between being mad and being bitter is sunset.
[00:38:52] See, there's an enemy that really wants to take you and me out.
[00:38:56] And when we let the sun go down, when we go to bed bad and we just stuff our anger, you give him an opportunity to do some really, really nasty stuff on the inside of you. In fact,
[00:39:05] the word used here for foothold literally means base of operation. Paul's saying, don't let him set up his command center in the hub of your unresolved anger. Listen to me, anger that gets buried is toxic and it leaks and you will not be an exception to that. It will poison your thought
[00:39:23] processes. It will poison your body. It will poison your internal organs. It will poison your attitude, poison your relationships. It will poison your soul. And that's why Paul says, take it to the curb. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types
[00:39:40] of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Well, maybe you're not a stuffer at all. And Maybe you're thinking, why would anybody repress their anger when it's so much fun to express
[00:39:59] your anger? Perhaps you would identify more with this guy. The ventilator is what we'll call him.
[00:40:06] The ventilator. There are lots of people who do anything but stuff it deep inside.
[00:40:12] They just blow it out, man. They let it fly. They yell, they scream, they confront, they cuss, they punch drywall, they kick cats, they slam doors, they throw golf clubs, they honk their horn, they squeal their tires, they post angry things on social media, and they do it with all
[00:40:28] caps with 10 exclamation points. They get in your face, they power up when they get mad, and it seems like the littlest thing can just set them off. And gang, people who manage their anger
[00:40:39] this way, they tear up marriages and friendships and families and neighborhoods and companies and churches, and they're not a lot of fun to be around because their tone, their volume, their body language just intimidates you and makes you want to steer clear.
[00:40:58] Ecclesiastes 7, 9 has a word for the ventilator. Don't be quick-tempered, for anger is the friend of fools. Proverbs 29, verse 11 says, stupid people express their anger openly, but sensible people are patient and hold it back. Do you catch a theme here?
[00:41:16] those those terms fool stupid person those are not flattering terms for the one who expresses their anger to the detriment of other people but gang it's true you see it's just plain stupid to act like that you just can't continue with angry outburst and abusive reaction and call that
[00:41:35] God's best version of you for a person's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires well maybe your anger management style is more like we'll call this person the prosecuting attorney. Maybe the way you handle your anger is to talk it to death. You just won't let it go.
[00:41:56] You just will not let it go. Dr. Les Carger, in his book called The Anger Workbook, which I'd highly recommend. I read it years ago. It's super helpful. He says that one of the root causes of
[00:42:05] anger is when our convictions get violated or there is some perceived injustice done against us.
[00:42:12] And when that's the case, the prosecuting attorney goes to work.
[00:42:18] He or she cannot let this violation of justice rest.
[00:42:22] They start planning the attack.
[00:42:23] They're digging up dirt.
[00:42:24] They're keeping records.
[00:42:25] They're marking evidence, exhibit A, exhibit B.
[00:42:27] They're bringing up cold cases from days gone by.
[00:42:30] And being so overwhelmingly prepared and possessing superior intelligence and verbal skills, that child or that spouse is made to feel like a dirty, rotten scoundrel until justice is served.
[00:42:44] So here's a word for the prosecutor. Proverbs 20, verse 3. It's an honor for a man to stay out of a fight. Only fools insist on quarreling. I love this one straight out. Proverbs 10, 19. Don't talk so
[00:43:00] much. You keep putting your foot in your mouth. Be sensible. Turn off the flow. Well, maybe you're none of those. Maybe you're more like I used to be. And you could be categorized as the stealth
[00:43:12] bomber. The clinical term is passive aggressive. Oh, you're aggressive with your anger. You just do it in a sly passive kind of way. You kind of fly below the radar and then out of nowhere,
[00:43:27] drop these little bombs of sarcasm. With your amazing wit and your clever tongue, you're able to fire these little heat-seeking missiles, not designed to destroy the enemy target. Just ding them a little bit. And then almost stealth-like, you're out of the room.
[00:43:43] I used to be that guy. Proverbs 17, 14 has a word for us. Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam. So drop the matter before a dispute breaks out. When we say, well, we're trying to destroy
[00:43:56] him, man. I'm just trying to get a little last word, a little verbal jab in. Well, that verse is saying that's like poking a hole in a dam. What was just a little sarcastic shot is going to turn
[00:44:07] into a flood of trouble if you don't stop doing that. So whether you find yourself as the trash compactor or maybe the ventilator or maybe the prosecuting attorney or the stealth bomber or some other sort, or maybe all four combination, we all got to get proactive about this. And we
[00:44:24] got to ask the Holy Spirit for help so that we can live the kind of life that God wants us to live and respond to each other in a God-honoring way. So let me just give you a few practical ways that
[00:44:34] God's been teaching me through the years about handling my anger. Number one is this, reflect before you react. Reflect before you react. See, anger is a pretty complex emotion. One of the reasons anger is as baffling and mysterious as it really is that most of the time our anger tends
[00:44:53] to divert our attention away from the real issue, from what lies beneath, which is why psychologists often refer to anger as the second emotion, the second emotion. We don't really know what to do with the first emotion. It's too complicated. So we just jump over to anger because that's a lot
[00:45:14] easier to just express anger rather than deal with the first emotion. For example, let me see if I can make sense of this. Let's just say a wife is like foot stomping. I could spit nails
[00:45:23] mad as she watches her husband pull into the driveway late for the fourth time in a row that week. And she greets him at the door, got a baby on the hip and a sarcastic round of shots like,
[00:45:35] why don't you just put a cot in your office? Or I'll put name tags on the kids so you would know who they are. What's going on when she meets him at the door like that? You say, well, she's mad,
[00:45:47] bro. Well, we all see that. But what I want you to ponder is what's really going on there?
[00:45:55] What might have been her first emotion? You think about it for a second.
[00:46:00] What was she probably feeling before she just jumped over to anger? I'm guessing some loneliness, maybe some disappointment, some abandonment maybe. Maybe a lack of appreciation for all she's done all day long with three little kids. I mean, chances are she's looked forward to her husband
[00:46:17] coming home. She was hoping that he would come home early, like he promised he would start doing so that she could get a break, or maybe they could have dinner together, or maybe they could
[00:46:24] get the stroller and go for a walk, or just hang out together. And when he didn't show up till nine o'clock again, she probably started feeling sad first. Maybe a little unloved, got to thinking,
[00:46:38] you know what? I'm not treasured around here. I mean, me and the kids, we're just afterthoughts.
[00:46:43] He cares more about his career than he cares about us. Or maybe she thought, you know what?
[00:46:46] I hate being lied to like this.
[00:46:49] And maybe she started feeling devalued, neglected, undesirable, maybe pushed aside.
[00:46:55] Do I have to tell any of y'all like feeling five minutes of those kind of feelings are enough to make any of us just bolt over to that second emotion called anger?
[00:47:03] Because once we're feeling angry feelings, now we can grab some power as we gather up all those hurt feelings inside of us and just empty ourself of all those uncomfortable first emotions by spewing them out on somebody else in the form of rage.
[00:47:18] Anger is rarely the first emotion.
[00:47:21] So reflect before you react.
[00:47:24] You ask, what's really going on inside of me?
[00:47:28] What is the root of this?
[00:47:30] Instead of unloading on each other, you sit down and go, hey, listen, we really need to talk about this.
[00:47:37] You need to know, this is how this makes me feel.
[00:47:41] Those kinds of conversations start the pathway to some honest change.
[00:47:44] And they're much better than intimidating, explosive anger.
[00:47:49] So just be aware.
[00:47:50] When you find yourself getting angry, admit to yourself as early in the process as possible, hey, my buttons have been pushed, my fuse has been lit, my irritability level is rising.
[00:47:58] Yep, I'm pretty sure I'm ticked.
[00:48:01] Pause to reflect.
[00:48:03] And you pray that prayer from Psalm 139 that we see around here a lot, where you say, search me, O God.
[00:48:09] Know my heart.
[00:48:11] Test me and know my anxious thoughts.
[00:48:12] see if there's any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Reflect before you react. I heard Megan Marshman Erickson point this out the other day. I love Psalm 139, the one we
[00:48:25] just read. It is such a rich passage. If you've never read it, you go read it, because David in the Psalm is so beautiful. He talks about, God, your presence is everywhere. If I go here, you're
[00:48:33] there. If I go here, you're there. If I go over here, you're there. You're all around me. Your thoughts about me are way too many to count. I just love this. He says, you knit me together in
[00:48:40] my mother's womb, I am fearlessly and wonderfully made. Some really memorable and often quoted verses in Psalm 139, but I'd never seen this before. Right in the middle of it, right before he gets to the search me, oh God prayer, David yells. He just gets his anger out with God. Check
[00:48:59] this out. He says, if only you, God, would slay the wicked away from me, you who are bloodthirsty, they speak of you with evil intent. Your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you. I have nothing but
[00:49:15] hatred for them. I count them my enemies. God, that's what I'm feeling. These people make me furious. I am in fuego. So search my heart, oh God. Know my anxious thoughts. Show me what lies
[00:49:33] beneath in my heart. Point out any offensive junk that's living there and lead me on to a better path. So you honestly acknowledge, I'm mad, but why am I so ticked off? What is the first emotion
[00:49:45] here? What's the deeper issue that I need to deal with? So help me, God, not to jump to the easy path of bombing somebody else with my anger right now. Is there something going on in my own heart
[00:49:57] that's making me agitated? And help me in this moment react appropriately. You see, the earlier you admit it to yourself and you call it what it really is, the more time you have to decide
[00:50:08] how you're going to handle it. I love what it says in Proverbs 17, 27. The one who knows much says little because an understanding person remains calm. So reflect, understand before you react.
[00:50:23] Number two, remember the results. Remember the results. You stop in a moment and say, you know what? I got a choice here. I can stir up dissension. I can hurt a bunch of people right now.
[00:50:37] I can make a total fool out of myself and commit a whole lot of sin in the next few minutes or I can handle this appropriately because you do have a choice you don't have to stuff it spew it
[00:50:50] litigate it or bomb people with it it can be managed in a God honoring way I was speaking to a group of guys not long ago at this conference about sexual purity and lust and fantasies and
[00:51:01] affairs and such and I told him man you got to play the video all the way out you got you got the Savior said, if I go down this road that I'm on, if I continue to do this, take a look at the
[00:51:10] long-term consequences before you start down that road. Because if you hit fast forward, you're not going to like the way this ends. The same principle is effective in dealing with anger. Remember the results. Remember what happened the last time you went off. Think it through. Think about the damage
[00:51:28] you might do this time around. You visualize the trauma it might cause in a little girl, a little boy's life, even down the road. Sometimes God restrains me from doing something by giving me a quick glimpse of the way it's going to be if I follow through with my angry impulses. And I don't
[00:51:43] like the picture. So I'm able to stop before it's too late. Just because somebody has made you mad, you don't have to be mean. You don't have to compound the problem with sin. Proverbs 29,
[00:51:55] 22 says, an angry man, an angry woman stirs up dissension and a hot tempered one commits many sins. Play the video all the way out because this is so tragically true. Proverbs 11, 29, the fool who provokes his family to anger and resentment will finally have nothing worthwhile
[00:52:16] left. So I think what we do, we internalize some of these scriptures. That's why I asked you to take a screenshot or jot them down. Start to scroll through the options. You stop in the
[00:52:27] moment, you ask the Holy Spirit, give me some help right now. If you were a follower of Jesus Christ, guess what? He is in you. So you ask him in the moment for self-control. You ask him for an extra
[00:52:38] dose of compassion and patience right now. With his help, we really can make wise choices that will honor God, build our character, and in the process, save our relationships. So reflect before you react, remember the results. And then one more, restrain your remarks, restrain your remarks.
[00:52:58] I told a friend last week, I was going to teach on this today. He said, bro, tell them this.
[00:53:03] God gave us two ears and one mouth. We need to learn to use them proportionally.
[00:53:10] Proverbs 21, 23 says, if you want to stay out of trouble, just be careful what you say.
[00:53:16] Anybody else's mouth get them in trouble? Ever seen like you've got two mouths and no ears?
[00:53:21] James the one who wrote our verse about being quick to listen slow to speak slow to get angry he gets on a roll about this in chapter three probably a lot of you have seen this before but
[00:53:33] it says indeed we all make many mistakes for if we could control our tongues we'd be perfect you could also control ourselves in every other way we can we can make a large horse go wherever we
[00:53:44] want by means of a small bit in its mouth and a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go even though the winds are strong in the same way in the same way the tongue
[00:53:58] is a small thing that makes grand speeches but a tiny spark can set a great forest in fuego the tongue is a flame of fire it is a whole world of wickedness corrupting our entire body
[00:54:12] it can set your whole life on fire for it is set on fire by hell itself you know what people can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a
[00:54:25] restless evil full of deadly poison. And I might add in the world of social media posts and comments, you could also say the thumbs are a restless evil full of deadly poison. People will type angry, negative, vile comments. Then you'll look at their profile and it will say lover of
[00:54:43] God. What? The verse right after that, don't let the sun go down on your anger, has a word for all of us. Ephesians 4, 29, do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is
[00:55:00] helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
[00:55:05] Restrain your remarks. Now, maybe you're pushing back going, hey, bro, didn't we just read, no one can tame the tongue. So how do you expect me to do that if it's impossible? Well, it is
[00:55:19] impossible without God's help. We can't transform ourselves. That's why it's so crucial to live every moment in the awareness of the presence and power of God, to humble yourself in the moment and asking for help, to say, I can't, you can't, I'm going to let you. I'm going to renew my mind daily
[00:55:39] to your word. I'm going to apply the things we've been talking about today. If you will fill your heart with these verses, I'm telling you, he will bring them to your mind this week. He will help
[00:55:48] you in that heated moment, hold your tongue and bite your lip. Listen, the next time you're engaged in a disagreement with your spouse, the next time you get a little heated up in traffic, the next
[00:55:58] time the umpire blows that call, the next time you want to set them straight with some kind of venomous post, the next time you get ticked off with the kids, the next time things aren't going
[00:56:07] so great with your folks or something goes wrong at work or school, or you have to have a confrontational conversation, let God remind you of this verse. In fact, you ought to memorize this one. It's an easy one. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Let's read
[00:56:24] that together out loud. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Let's read that again. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Man, stick that one
[00:56:36] in your heart this week. I was driving a car that a guy was actually was going to let me have it years ago. And I was driving in a country road in Kentucky in this little small town
[00:56:50] and a police officer pulled me over and he walks up to my door and I said, was I going too fast?
[00:56:56] And he goes, oh no, you're, you're fine. But your tags are expired. Oh, well, well, this is not, see, it's not, it's not really my car. It's just like somebody else's car. And he goes, well,
[00:57:07] I don't care whose car it is.
[00:57:08] Your tags are expired.
[00:57:09] You're the driver.
[00:57:10] I went, well, yeah, but, and he wouldn't listen.
[00:57:13] So he gave me a ticket.
[00:57:14] He said, listen, if you want to contest this ticket, you'll have to go to the courthouse.
[00:57:17] And he gave me a date that I could go to the courthouse and contest this ticket.
[00:57:19] So I said, I'm contesting this ticket because this ain't fair.
[00:57:22] So I go to the courthouse and I get there and there's a long line of people waiting to see the judge.
[00:57:28] So I get in line.
[00:57:29] I'm standing there forever, it seems like.
[00:57:31] I finally get up there and the judge is not in a good mood.
[00:57:34] And I try to explain my situation.
[00:57:36] He just kind of looks at me like, you're an idiot. And I said, oh, okay. So I'm just going to pay this ticket. I grabbed it. You know, I wasn't going to tell my friend that I had the ticket or anything like that. So I grabbed the
[00:57:44] ticket and I walked down the hall. On the way down the hallway, I'm thinking, somebody's going to hear about this injustice. The next person I see, I don't care who they are. They're going to hear
[00:57:54] my story because I'm mad and I'm going to tell somebody about this. And so I'm walking down the hallway saying, somebody's going to know. I'm walking down the hall. I felt like God was saying
[00:58:05] to me. A gentle answer turns away wrath. Harsh words stirs up anger. Come on, man, be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to get angry. Gentle answer turns away wrath. A gentle answer turns
[00:58:17] away wrath. That person you're about to encounter, it's not their fault, and you're going to blow up all over somebody that has absolutely nothing to do with this situation. That person behind the counter that you're going to meet is somebody that Jesus died for, and they deserve to be
[00:58:32] treat it with honor and dignity. So I walk in and there's this girl behind the counter and I'm just, I'm boiling mad, but I managed to smile and paid the ticket. I did the right thing for once.
[00:58:46] I actually listened to him in the moment. And as I walked away, the girl behind the counter says, oh, hey, by the way, I love coming to your church. Oh my goodness. I'm so glad I listened in the
[00:59:03] moment. Glad I got it right. So I'm telling you that because you can listen to him in the moment too. He's going to say to you this week, come on, calm down. Remember that person's a person of
[00:59:16] great worth. A gentle answer turns away wrath. Gentle answer turns away wrath. A gentle answer will calm things down right now. Look in your own heart. Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to get angry, reflect before you react and you pray, God, thank you. Thanks for that reminder
[00:59:32] because I need him. Just help me right now not to say the wrong thing, the hurtful thing, the thing that's going to throw fuel on this fire. God, just help me shut up and smile right now. Give me,
[00:59:44] like Jesus, humility, honesty, confidence, and courage, but also I need some gentleness and restraint right now. Now, you do know, don't you, that the same man Jesus who went to what lies beneath and spoke those heart clarifying words about murder was himself murdered i mean jesus
[01:00:06] was murdered right i mean it was a cold-hearted premeditated conspiracy deliberate hateful vengeful mafia style hit on his life no doubt about it a cold-blooded calculated murder or as they say in dateline or was it i mean the crime scene would certainly point to that verdict
[01:00:29] and the motive of the hearts of the people involved would certainly get them sentenced to death.
[01:00:35] But in the absolute truest sense, this was no murder.
[01:00:43] Did you know that Jesus said, no one takes my life from me.
[01:00:48] I lay it down voluntarily.
[01:00:51] From the cross, Jesus could have called 10,000 of the biggest, baddest angels in heaven.
[01:00:57] Don't you think that the one who could calm the wind and the waves of the word, the one who could make blind men see, the one who fed 5,000 people with two fish and five biscuits, the one who raised Lazarus from
[01:01:08] the dead, the one who in the beginning said, let there be light. Don't you think he could certainly handle a puny lynch mob if he wanted to? But because he saw your face and my face,
[01:01:21] because he saw your sin and my sin, because he saw what lies beneath all the rage, all the anger, all the bitterness, all the hatred in our hearts. He laid down his life and said, Father,
[01:01:36] forgive them because they don't know what they're doing. Through the voluntary sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, there is forgiveness and freedom for anybody who will accept him as their Savior.
[01:01:49] And then through his love, he begins to change angry hearts. So I think we just need to pray about this for a moment. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for the way it does
[01:02:04] penetrate our hearts. And God, like we said, this is a big deal. We know it's a big deal because you talk about it a lot. Jesus, thank you for going to what lies beneath.
[01:02:20] A lot of us got junk just hanging inside of us that needs to go. Some of us have a lot of garbage in there. We need to take the curve. And you spoke to us today. Some of us, we just, we don't think.
[01:02:33] We just blow it out and say stupid stuff and make a fool out of ourself and hurt people.
[01:02:41] Some of us, we just are sarcastic and we got our own ways of dishing it out.
[01:02:50] So we're just saying today, help us.
[01:02:55] We know that's not your best version of us.
[01:02:58] We know it doesn't bring about the righteous life you desire us to live, full of light and full of love.
[01:03:03] And so God, examine our hearts.
[01:03:06] we give you we give you permission to go deep inside of us and surgically start to remove some of this stuff and we'll cooperate with you we will memorize some of these scriptures we'll at least
[01:03:18] read them over and over and get them in our hearts and our heads so that in the moment this week we could hear you speaking to us and we'll stop so thank you father what you're what you're going
[01:03:28] to teach us thanks for what you're teaching us today and i pray all this in the name of jesus

[01:03:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[01:03:32] amen amen amen amen hey help me thank pastor mike this morning what a great message hey i know that connected with every single one of us we all share the challenge of navigating things like like anger in our lives but for some of you
[01:03:47] maybe that hit in a really unique way and you need to process a decision or you just need to be prayed for by someone we don't remind you that after every gathering at lake point underneath
[01:03:56] both of our crosses we have prayer teams who are ready to pray for you and encourage you and help you take a next step well hey in case you aren't aware over the last two weeks we've had an
[01:04:06] incredible gathering happening near Austin with over 1,300 middle school students at United Camp.
[01:04:13] And it has been an amazing two weeks. We've had over 1,300 middle school students, fifth grade through eighth grade, along with over 300 really courageous volunteers helping to create an amazing camp experience. If you went to camp as a young person, you know all the things you do at camp.
[01:04:30] Water slides, jumping in the lake, you're eating crazy food, staying up late, you're having a good time. And listen, United Camp is the most fun that these kids will have all summer. I guarantee it.
[01:04:40] But here's the deal. We're not just in the entertainment business with United Camp. Our goal is to help connect these students with the real Jesus who really loves them and really wants to change their life forever. And I'm so excited to tell you that already over the last two weeks,
[01:04:56] we've had over 180 students make a first-time commitment to Jesus. We're so thankful for this.
[01:05:03] Yes, let's celebrate this.
[01:05:04] Lake Point family, this is what it's all about.
[01:05:07] I want to ask you to continue to pray for them.
[01:05:09] We have another camp coming up in just a couple of weeks where we have a couple of thousands of high school students going to United Camp.
[01:05:14] And we believe God has more that he wants to do.
[01:05:16] But I just want to let you know, man, that we can't do this stuff without your faithful generosity.
[01:05:21] It's because of your faithful giving that we're able to create environments like this for middle school and high school students.
[01:05:28] And listen, because of your generosity, there are students that attended United Camp that would not have been able to go if it weren't for your faithful generosity and helping to provide scholarships for them to be able to attend.
[01:05:39] So thank you for giving.
[01:05:41] Thank you for your faithfulness.
[01:05:42] If you're not already a part of giving at Lake Point, we wanna invite you into the blessing of generosity.
[01:05:47] It's really easy to jump into this.
[01:05:49] All you have to do is text the word give to 20411 or in just a moment, we're gonna be passing buckets in the room.
[01:05:55] And as always, as you leave, we have offering boxes in the back.
[01:05:59] Well, hey, it's been a great day.
[01:06:00] And don't you feel like we just need to go out singing? I think we do. Will you stand with us as we worship, as we give, and as we sing?

[01:07:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:07:55] Hey, Church Online, thanks for being here today. I hope the message from Pastor Mike landed right where you needed it. Before we go, if you're in DFW, we'd love to see you in person. We've got
[01:08:07] eight campuses across the DFW area, and one of them is close to you. If you're out near Forney, come visit us. I'll be there. I'd love to shake your hand and help you find your next step.
[01:08:19] And if you haven't subscribed to our YouTube channel yet, listen, hit that subscribe button and turn on notifications so you don't miss Live Free.
[01:08:27] Monday's episode picks up right where today's message left off.
[01:08:31] You don't wanna miss it.
[01:08:32] Now, let me pray for you real quick.
[01:08:35] God, thank you so much for this message, for all the ears who are hearing.
[01:08:39] Thank you for the work that you're doing in our lives.
[01:08:42] We trust you.
[01:08:43] We need you.
[01:08:45] God, when we say we yield, That means wherever you lead, we will follow.
[01:08:49] Help us to grow.
[01:08:50] And in fact, I'm going to say stretch us this week to see and to step into our next step.
[01:08:57] We love you.
[01:08:57] In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
[01:09:00] It's been amazing hanging out.
[01:09:01] We'll see you next time.