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So bless them which persecute you, bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice. We with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mine not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible as much as life in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, rather give place under wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay sayeth the Lord.

Therefore if thine enemy hunger feed him, if he thirst give him drink. For in so doing thou shall he coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Bless them which persecute you. Bless and curse not. Every one of these statements that is asking asking us to do something in reality is helping us to learn how to deal with anger. Because everybody has an anger problem. We can call it whatever we want to, but it generally means that we want to get even.

We want to take vengeance. We want to make somebody pay for hurting us. Be a blessing to them. See, Christian life is not people being a blessing to you. It would be great if everybody was. Okay, so they’re not learn how to be a blessing and Ask the Lord to bless people. I very seldom ever ask God curse somebody I’ve asked God to put a hedge of phones around people So that they would prick them and get them back to him Louise it bless and curse not I Watch people even swing at a golf ball and the golf ball goes in the woods.

They curse Like it was that little golf balls fall that little golf ball is It doesn’t have a mind. It can’t think, can’t reason, and yet every golfer I’ve ever seen talks to it. It can’t hear a word, but they talk to it, oh, no, no, no, no, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. I went in the woods and getting mad over there at that poor little golf ball. He says, rejoice with them that do rejoice, learning how to be happy when other people are happy.

You know what? Some people I think want everybody to be miserable. Have you ever hoped that somebody doesn’t succeed in something? I don’t want anybody to fail. I want people to succeed. I want the best for them. I want them to enjoy life. I want them to be happy, enjoy them. I want them to do what’s right in order of the God to do that for them. But we shouldn’t be thrilled with death because somebody’s having a bad time.

Well, look what he says. He says, rejoice with them that do rejoice. We with them that weep. There’s a time and place for everything. But if everybody’s joyful, you don’t want to cry on their part either. Be not wise in your own conceit. Have you ever met somebody that was conceited? Like Paul says, I will become all things to all men that I might by all means save some. That means that you’re supposed to talk to the person like, look, I’m a sinner.

You’re a sinner. We’re all sinners. Every time you hear me do the hand gesture, God loves us, but He hates our sin. that this is what will keep you from being as angry. God just given us a list of how to deal with the anger because everybody does get angry. We get angry at things, don’t work out right. We get angry at people. We can even get bad at the weather. If we get mad at the weather, have something planned and then it rained.

Recompense, the word recompense means payback. They got commercial now now, it’s payback time. And if people don’t treat us right, you know if you think too highly of yourself and people don’t treat you right, you’ll take offense to that. It’s so easy to be offended. And that’s why in the Bible it talks about here not being offended, not being offended, not offending and not being offended. Because most times if you’re offended, you get it to yourself. You can choose to be offended or choose not to be offended.

That’s a personal choice. recompense to no man evil for evil. Now the thing is this, and you ought to write it down in your paper. Evil will come. Evil will come. Evil things in this life are going to happen to you. But it doesn’t say, render evil for evil. It says do not do that. Do not render evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men, or always seek to be honest, because if you’re not an honest person, That’s all you really got going for you.

If Bible says in the book of Proverbs that a man’s good name is supposed to be honored above almost everything, because are you honest? Serving the Lord has to deal with honesty between you and God and between you and people. Always seek to tell the truth. Is there a God in heaven yet? Do you know that? Do you believe that? Or one day God is going to reveal and then he’ll be known. And until then, you can say it and then you’ve got to let it go and let people believe whatever they believe because you can’t change everything.

But it is important to try to provide things honest in the sight of all men. What have you do? Be honest. If it be possible, this is a verse you need to underline. This is a good verse. I’ve preached on this verse quite a few times. If it be possible, not always possible, as much as lie it in you, that will change with different people. Live peaceably with all men. Doesn’t need too much to be said about it. If it’s your husband or if it’s your wife or whatever it is, live peaceably with all of them as much as possible, as much as life within you.

In the words, I guess there’s a line that’s got to be drawn. It comes to time when you just can’t take it and you’re going to be angry and you’re going to say something that you should probably not say. But try to bear it as long as possible. Be long suffered as the Bible says in the book of Galatians in chapter 5 and verse 22. Look at the next statement. When he makes this statement here, vengeance is mine. I will repay Seth the Lord.

The reason you’re not to avenge yourself and the first part of that verse is because you’re supposed to believe, I’m supposed to believe God will take vengeance. Do you believe that God will get even, but he don’t have to if you’re going to. And he says, therefore if any thine enemy hunger, feed him. That’s a good deed. If he thirst, give him drink. That’s a good deed for in so doing, thou shalt heave coals of fire on his head.

That don’t sound good. All right, here’s a person laying on the ground up here. What are you going to do? I’m going to put some coals of fire on his head. Now I’ve been having a stoke to fire lately and I open that thing up and got a lot of hot coals in there. Throw a couple more logs on that fire and close that door and fires right up. Now why would he say if you’re nice to somebody you’re throwing coals of fire on her head?

Does that really sound like a nice thing to do if that doesn’t speak of vengeance what does? Now why would I want to put hot coals of fire on somebody’s head. And if I’m nice to them, you mean I’m doing something good or bad to them? They say that this doesn’t mean putting coal to fire on somebody’s head in order to burn them alive, you know. It says that sometimes your fire will go out. And so when your fire goes out and you don’t have any hot coals to start a fire, then you go to your neighbor and ask them if you can have some hot coals.

And they will take and put a hot coals upon a thing and they would toad them up on their head and they would toad them home. So putting hot coals upon their head was a good deed. It was a neighborly thing. It was a good thing. Otherwise, all these other things would not have meant good thing because they would have meant that you were getting even and you were paying them back, you’re recompensing and contradicts all the other things that says to all the other verses.

I think that is the meaning of this verse. Now some people and probably think this might mean, you know, by being nice to those who are un-nice to you, unkind to you, is like, you know, you’re going to hell and here’s another shovel full of coals on you. I don’t think that’s what he’s talking about. Because then that’s you doing it, not God. And let God deal with it, us do right. Now look at the next verse, be not overcome of evil.

It means evil will come, but don’t let it get the advantage. Don’t let it get the upper hand over you. But overcome evil with what? With good. Just keep doing good. Keep doing right. You can’t make everybody do right by you. You can’t make everybody say the right thing, do the right thing. And there’s experiences in life that just are not always the best. Now look at the next statement, anger. in and of itself is not sinful, but when not properly built with, it may lead to a multitude of sins toward God others or oneself.

We need to distinguish between being angry and sinning. Ephesians 4, 26, which on the right hand side of the page on the right hand column, makes this statement, be angry, be ye angry and sin not. Or you can’t be angry, but you don’t have to sin. And we should be angry at some things. It’s okay to get angry at everything that God can get angry at. If God can get angry at it, so can you. See how easy that is?

If God can get angry at it, you can get angry at it. And if God is angry at your sin, then you can get angry at it too. If God can get angry at somebody else’s sin, you can get angry at it too. You can get angry at everything that God can get angry at. And it can be a righteous anger. Then we can get angry because of things that people say and do, but it’s not to lead you to sin.

Now, get the rest of this. Righteous anger can become unrighteous anger in two ways. This is generally what will happen in the lives of certain people. Now based upon a person’s temperament depends on how they handle the anger. Now I am a high D. So a high D generally will do the part here, ventilation of anger, blowing up, exploding and saying it. We are generally not short of words on verbal anger and firing back, getting even. Then there’s others that have a temperament of being quiet, shy, timid, and don’t like of voice it all the time.

They hold it in. So there’s on the right hand side internalization of anger, clamming up. So there’s one that produces a hot war and the other one produces a cold war. And they’re both as a result of anger. Now look what I have here underneath blowing up. His emotional energies are aimed and fired at someone else, not necessarily the right person. Did you know somebody else can make you mad and angry and you can explode on somebody else had nothing to do with it.

And then that person says, what do I do? What do I do? What do I do? I just walked in there and you could be the recipient of somebody’s anger because they’ve got to explode on somebody. And so you just happen to be designated. So understand what people do and that there’s a sin problem because anger that leads to sin is a sin problem. Number two, although it is designed to hurt others, it also hurts the ventilator by damage to one’s body.

There’s often a powerful recoil to the immune system. Your body and my body is designed by God for peace, joy, happiness, and there’s glands all worked all through our bodies. And when you’re angry, the anger causes certain thing, chemical reactions in your body, that is designed to destroy. And it destroys parts of your body and can produce a lot of things that affects your health. That’s why it says in the testament, bitterness is hardening of the bones. And it says, Mary meant is medicine to the bones.

If you’re happy person, you have a tendency to be more healthy. But if you’re a person who is controlled by anger that turns to bitter and resentment, then it also affects Your health. Every doctor will tell you that because stress is a part of anger. Being stressful can be a part of anger because you’re not casting your cares upon the Lord, but at least a lot of other things. Get this. Number three, when anger injures the relationship, it may destroy the friendship.

In other words, you can have between two people, something that injures that relationship and that anger can lead. To a break of friendships. Now over the years, you have no doubt I’ve seen that happen. You’ve had many people that used to be your friends no longer your friends. I’ve had many people used to be my friends no longer my friends. And it’s generally will always be traced back. There’s anger somewhere anger that’s not dealt with that leads to bitterness and resentment and they actually know a host of all kind of other sins.

The number four. And how many times have you seen this? exploding on somebody and gotten it off his chest many times wished to continue the relationship as though nothing ever happened. In other words, this like a lady says to Billy Sunday, she says, I may explode sometimes but I get over it real quick. He said, yeah, a shotgun blast don’t last long but it sure does a lot of damage. In other words I’m mad my shotgun boom. No I feel better.

Yeah but what did you just do? You just blew away somebody. They anger the explosion the hurt the damage all of that. You got it off your chest. Now that’s what a person does that can blow up and they can have a short fuse and this is what can happen. Now remember all these things are this is Bible. All this is Bible. And some people call it, well, marriage counseling, you know, going to a good therapist and having somebody sitting in counseling and talking, well, all that’s good.

Or you can learn how to counsel yourself. Because when you know the Bible, you can deal with some of these things. But sometimes a good friend can explain and share some of these things with you. And you also need sometimes somebody. But look at number five. Good Christian counseling provides therapy that allows one to express his verbal physical expressions in a controlled environment. This is why sometimes it’s good to have somebody, if you have a very bad anger management problem, that you sometimes need to talk to somebody.

Somebody you can talk to, you can trust, but you can sit down and say what you want to say without fear of retribution because of it. But trust in somebody can help you with that and how to deal with that because anger can destroy the help and the spiritual help, the physical help of any Christian. So if you don’t know how to deal with the anger, it will deal with you and it’s going to affect you and it will affect the church, it will affect your home, it will affect your relationship between husband and wife, it affects everything.

A little thing called anger is how it’s manifested in so many other areas. Now look at the other side. The person that doesn’t blow up, but they clam up. It’s on the inside. In other words, they’re angry about something, but they don’t say it. They don’t come out and tell somebody. See others, there’s other kinds of, they just say it and get it off their chest, speak their mind, boom, go. Then they feel better. There’s others that’ll hold it inside and they just sieve with it.

It’s called a slow burn. Look at number one. a slow burn. In other words, slowly inside you’re burning. If you ever seen somebody, they’re just burning, human, like somebody done a little fuse and you don’t know if it’s going to explode or not explode. Every person, every person sitting in here, including this guy right here, is one of these. We do this. This is how we respond to certain things. And So number two, body lead tensions are released within oneself.

In other words, you get all pinched up, keyed up, tightened up, it can cause all kind of neck problem, muscle problem, all kind of physical problem because you’re tightening things up. You’re not loose, you’re not relaxing. And it causes a lot of stress because problems are not dealt with. Or because you thought something that somebody was gonna do this. So that was going to happen. And you got to learn how to deal with disappointments. How do you deal with those things that don’t go your way or go my way?

Number two, I mean, number three, holding it in for another leads to bitterness and resentment because you hold it in. Now, the person that you hold it in against may not have any clue, anything’s going on. And then you wonder why can’t they solve the problem? they can’t solve a problem, they don’t even know exist. It’d been a lot of time that one, I mean, how come Yankee didn’t solve that problem? Cause Yankee didn’t know that problem was their problem.

You may not solve some problem cause you didn’t even know there was one. And then you’ll find out a year later, two years later, three years later, that something was bothering somebody, and you had no clue, because they held it in. Now look at number four. Emotional energies of anger are non-productive. It will drain you physically. It’ll drain you. Being bitter and anger and upset will work your stomach muscles like you can’t believe. And you’ll secrete juices into your stomach and throughout your body and it’ll change the chemical makeup and you’ll have health problems.

All of it do because something’s bothering you. Something can bother you but you don’t deal with it. And it says that you’re not going to do anything. not very productive because of it. Because it will eat at you, eat at you, like cancer on the inside. Number five, it may last for hours,585 days or years. And you hold it in. The person that blows up is generally a little bit better off. But they do a lot of damage to other people that many times have nothing to do with anything.

And they damage the other person. this person is damaging themselves. And sooner or later, they don’t know they’re like a stick of dynamite. Just wait for somebody to sit light a fuse and they’re going off. But then it’s when they last straw, they can’t handle anymore, and then they have a nervous breakdown or something. Now, number six, anger that directs emotional energies at one self injures his own body, causing him to be irritable, Saulen, sulky, tensed, and miserable. Just miserable.

You ever met some people that just never seem to be happy. Never happy. It’s always, it’s gonna be happy. They’ll be happy tomorrow, or maybe the next day, or if this happens, but most times, generally, they’re just not very happy people. And most people don’t like to be around unhappy people. But not good company for others, they appear to be very unhappy. Number seven, it produces an irreconcilable condition for no one knows what is seething underneath. In other words, you can’t solve the problem.

Nobody can solve the person’s problem because it’s an inside job. Most homes when they recommend it’s an inside job and the person who lets anger build up inside of them and don’t deal with the problem, It’s an inside job. They destroy themselves. Look at number nine. Number nine. Boredom is a form of internalization of anger. Boredom is not passes, but an active rebellion against a situation in which he does not like, but thinks he cannot change. In other words, and I’ve done it, I’m bored.

You know, I want to go fishing or I want to go hunting or I want to go play golf I want to do something and it’s raining outside and I can’t so I’m just bored. I’m bored In other words, I got a situation and I don’t know how to change the situation So I can become bored. You say well, there’s nothing wrong with being bored, but why are we bored? There’s something I can’t do someplace. I can’t go. I am not as happy as I would be if I was doing that So therefore I am not in that situation So this calls me to be bored, but boredom is not a passive thing like it doesn’t bother me Bored is something it is saying I am bored.

I am not Satisfied with the situation and I want to change it This is why it’s good to have many things that you can do Not to be a person of just one thing. I’m not talking about the gospel and silver. I’m talking about I’ve got ways in which you can do something. Okay, I can’t do that. What else can I do? I can’t do that. Okay, now what else can I do? Find something that you can do. But nobody should have to live a life of boredom.

I’ve talked to teenagers that are just filled with boredom, bored, bored stuff. Because you know what? They want to go somewhere, do something if they can’t. And that’s why grounding them is the death blow to them. Because that’s the last thing I want to do is sit around the house and do nothing. They always want to go do something, be active. The next statement, how to handle anger righteously? That’s God’s way. Well, what is God’s way? Right up there in Romans 12.

Those verses that we have is the way to deal with anger in a righteous way. And it says, blessed in that persecute you, because if you don’t, you’re going to get angry. Blessed in that curse you, because if somebody curses you, you’re going to get offended, and you’re going to get angry because of it. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Because if you’re of the wrong kind of a mind that you don’t want people to be happy, why?

Because I’m not happy. And therefore, you’re being happy as a rebuke to me, and I don’t like it. People have got all kinds of reasons. But these verses will help you to deal with the anger itself. down to bottom of the page. You may freely display anger at everything God displays His anger. Angry is appropriate as a means of communication, a feeling in reaction to another’s behavior. Because anger is sometimes the way we can scold a child who disobeys and there should be angry because the child disobeys.

There’s nothing wrong with being angry. Angry can be a good thing. God gets angry. The next statement, it may be a very necessary, powerful, emotional reaction that may be used, but not abused. Anger is to be used. I as a pastor sometime, I get angry at the disobedience of God’s people and the unfaithfulness of God’s people. Now, do I have a right to be angry about that? Yes, I do. Why? Because God gets angry about that. I can get angry with anything God gets angry.

If God’s people live in sin, I should be angry about that. Why? Because God gets angry about that. can be angry by that and rebuke because of that, but it’s not to be abused. It’s not to leave me to sin. I’m going to take matters in them all in hand. Any Christian that doesn’t serve the Lord right, I’m just going to shoot him. Now would that be right? I don’t think so. I’m going to put them all in jail.

Look at the next statement. In John chapter 2 verse 17, Jesus says, the zeal of thine house has eaten me up. You know what he was talking about? You see in John chapter 2, he went into the temple and he saw the money changes in the temple. And he called it in one place, my house was a house of prayer, and you have made it a den of thieves. So he says, the zeal of the house has eaten me up.

In other words, what I see of these people doing in this holy place has made me burn. And that’s why he took the ropes and he beat the people out of there. Was he angry? You got right. Jesus Christ, when he got angry and he chased the people out of the place and said what he thought. I think it was angry when he told the Pharisees, you hypocrites over and over again in Matthew 23. He was angry. God is angry with the wicked every day, but I want you to look at this verse Psalms 7, 11 and verse 10.

My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart. God judgeth the righteous and you ought to underline this in your Bible. God is angry with the wicked wind. Every day, God’s angry every day. But does God still love the world? God loves the world, but he’s angry at the wicked. Because of what they do if he’s angry at the wicked because of what they do don’t you think he gets angry at the righteous because of what they do Yes, he does Then he makes a statement in verse 12 if he turned not the person that’s doing the wickedness Then making God angry God I believe he won’t wet his sword He hath bent his bow and made it ready and you can bet your bottom dollar There’s an arrow on the way that era is in called trouble and God has a quiver full of them.

You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Life broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen, the trumpet will sound, and we will be changed.

Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon, and just keep looking up.