Ephesians 4:26-27 NKJV

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

Three Steps to Victory Over Anger:

#1) BE ANGRY

• Anger is a natural emotion, an alert system given by God to let us know when something is wrong.
• Our feelings of anger are healthy feelings that are given by God to prompt a righteous end.
• Unhealthy anger promotes destructive behavior.
• This destructive behavior is the reason unhealthy anger is so damaging to relationships.

#2) DON’T SIN

• The most critical step in keeping anger from becoming destructive is by submitting it to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

• Much of the destruction in our lives can be traced to an unwillingness to trust God with our problems and pains.
• We must learn to take our feelings of anger and bring them openly before God’s throne in prayer.

Luke 6:27 NLT

But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.

#3) DEAL WITH IT

• Whenever we allow ourselves to go to bed angry, there are two dangerous things that begin to happen.
  • First, our anger begins to sink more deeply into our subconscious mind.
  • Second, unresolved anger gives the devil access to our emotions.

John 8:44 NLT

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Revelation 12:10 NLT

Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night.

• When we allow anger to settle into our minds and hearts, demonic voices soon begin to fan the flames of resentment into red-hot emotions of hatred and revenge.
• We must deal with our anger, or it will deal with us.

The Eight Anchors of Anger

1) THE ANCHOR OF UNFORGIVENESS AND UNBROKEN JUDGMENTS

Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

• Unforgiveness and unbroken judgments on people in our past cause anger today. The more people we resent and judge, the more angry and hostile we become.

2) THE ANCHOR OF LOSS AND HURT

• One of the stages of grief that people almost always go through when they lose a loved one is anger.
• Anger related to loss or hurt is something normal and healthy people feel. It only becomes negative when one never resolves his loss or hurt.

Psalm 147:3 NLT

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

• If we don’t surrender our loss into God’s hands and resolve our emotions through trust, we will forever be tortured by anger and a variety of confused and unpredictable emotions.

3) THE ANCHOR OF FEAR

• If we fear failure, rejection, sickness, death, or something else, we will almost always become angry at the objects we believe are bringing about the things we fear.

John 14:1 ESV

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”

Psalm 23:4 ESV

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

4) THE ANCHOR OF IGNORANCE

• In an atmosphere of ignorance, we can become angry, prejudiced, unreasonable people.

Acts 17:30-31 NLT

“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

5) THE ANCHOR OF SPIRITUAL HARASSMENT

• There are times when our emotions are the result of spiritual manipulation and harassment.

Ephesians 6:12 NLT

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

• Without being challenged, it is possible for satanic forces to produce deep feelings of anger and resentment through nothing more than imagination and irritated emotions.
• We must learn to be sensitive to this and to quickly take authority over them when we believe they are the cause of our anger.

6) THE ANCHOR OF UNREALISTIC AND SELFISH THINKING

• Refusing to think selflessly or realistically, many angry people constantly lift the standard on life and those around them to a level where failure is inevitable.
• In fact, there is nothing more certain than the fact that life is brutal to those who are selfish and unrealistic.

Philippians 2:4 ESV

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

1 Corinthians 10:24 NLT

Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.

• In order to free ourselves from unnecessary anger, we need to evaluate how selfish and unrealistic our thinking may be in every major area of life.

7) THE ANCHOR OF STRESS

• Stress causes our nerves to be unraveled, and it sets us up for frustration and anger.

Psalm 94:19 NLT

When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

• For the sake of our own health and relationships, we need to constantly monitor our level of stress and realize that it will rob us of joy in life as it also sets us up for emotional outbursts.

8) THE ANCHOR OF THE FLESH (LACK OF SPIRITUAL ENABLEMENT)

Galatians 5:16-23 NLT

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

• When we are exhibiting behavior such as hatred, resentment, anger, arguments and outbursts of wrath… we can know that we are walking in our flesh and not according to God’s Spirit.
• The Holy Spirit enables us as we admit our need for Him daily in prayer and invite Him into our lives.
• As you learn to detect and disarm anger in your life, you will also learn to live in the peace that only Jesus Christ can bring.

CONCLUSION:

• When we allow ourselves to express anger without sinning, and deal with it, we can be free from the traps of the enemy that unhealthy anger can cause.
• Are we truly submitting our emotions to God?
• Are we willing to submit our anger to God?

Psalm 139:23-24 Passion

God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart.

Examine me through and through;

find out everything that may be hidden within me.

Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares.

See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on,

and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting ways—

the path that brings me back to you.