The Poison of a Man’s
Anger
The Hard
Lessons on Allowing God to Be Gracious – Part 1
Jonah
Chapter 4
The Poison of a Man’s
Anger
The Hard
Lessons on Allowing God to Be Gracious – Part 1 Jonah
Chapter 4 |
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Nov 22, 2015 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I.
Introduction (Matthew 12:40,41)
A.
Throughout this little book, we
have seen God’s Grace At Work
1.
Using Jonah’s rebellion as a means to
save a ship of pagan sailors
2.
Keeping Jonah alive in the belly of a
whale for 3 days and 3 nights
3.
Calling Jonah to do an impossible task –
preach and warn and turn the Ninevites from sin
4.
All because God CARED about the enemies
of Israel – enough to warn them, wake them up to the coming righteous
wrath and judgment of God, and save them
B.
We have watched as Nineveh
experienced the greatest miracle!
1.
Of grown men and women, rich and poor,
coming down off their high horses of pride and rebellion, and repenting
of their wicked lives
2.
And then of GOD Himself repenting of the
judgment that He was about to pour out on that city just like He did on
Sodom and Gomorrah
3.
And forgiving them of all their evil!
C.
We have learned that Only Humble
Repentance Unlocks Such Grace!
1.
Not religious acts, and duties – not good
and pious efforts to please God
2.
Not money, or charities
3.
Not wisdom or intellect
4.
Just brokenness and sorrow for how sinful
we all are before God
D.
We have learned that True
Repentance, that completely trusts God, Saves!
E.
But there is a warning to OUR
generation… Matt 12:41
1.
The Ninevites will rise in judgment
against us, for "they believed God" and "repented at the preaching of
Jonah."
2.
And so many today won’t or haven’t!
F.
But we are not finished. There
is one last chapter. And we will have to split it in two:
1.
Today… The Poison of Anger
2.
Next week – Escaping the Trap of Anger
II.
Background (Jonah 4:1)
A.
The fourth chapter of the little Book of
Jonah is amazing!
B.
It contains the word "angry" four times!
In just eleven verses! And
it is all coming from the prophet Jonah! Jonah is one angry Preacher!
C.
His anger has poisoned his testimony,
hurt his reputation, and ultimately ruins his ability to do anything
more for God! Because it blinds him to the grace and the kindness of
God!
D.
Anger will blind you too, unless you
learn how to deal with it
III.
Message
A.
Jonah is Furious (Jonah 4:1)
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
1.
Jonah finished his preaching
a.
Jonah has walked throughout the entire
city of Nineveh
b.
Preaching his harsh message of warning
and coming wrath
c.
Jonah had proclaimed "Yet
forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." That was the totality
of his Sermon! One Message! Repeated across the whole vast metropolis!
2.
And now that he is finished, and leaving
the city, he is angry – furious!
a.
He is storming out of the city! He is so
angry he is shaking!
b.
Jonah should have been pleased at the
success of his ministry
c.
Nothing grieves a pastor more than the
hardness of men's hearts, and the failure of their labours; and nothing
rejoices us more than the conversion of sinners by straight preaching,
and clear repentance!
d.
Jesus said, There is joy in heaven even
over one sinner repenting …
e.
Yet Jonah is DISPLEASED at the repentance
of the Ninevites through his preaching, and at the mercy of God being
showed unto them
3.
What displeased Jonah?
a.
That he had been MADE to do the right
thing.
1)
He had been made to go to his nation’s
enemies - the Ninevites
2)
And he had been made to offer them a
chance for to get forgiven and not judged!
3)
Nobody likes to be made to do anything
4)
But with God, He often not only tells us
what is the right thing to do, He puts pressure on us to DO the right
thing!
5)
And that’s not a bad thing!
b.
That these ungodly, pagan, hateful
people, and even their wicked king actually had acted on the mercy and
grace God had offered them, and had received the gift of God’s mercy!
c.
And all that made Jonah VERY angry
d.
You probably believe you would have
easily done such a thing – that is until it is YOUR enemy that you are
having to be kind and merciful to!
4.
But all that wasn’t the real reason for
Jonah’s anger!
B.
He is Angry at God (Jonah 4:2)
1.
‘God’ has upset Jonah! (He seems to upset
a LOT of people)
a.
God has forgiven a whole city, Nineveh
the Capital of Assyria, of their sins! Wonderful Revival has come. One
that lasted over 150 years too! The greatest Revival in the whole Old
Testament!
b.
The only problem was Jonah did not want
these ungodly people spared from judgment!
c.
Wow! Think about it!
2.
Jonah gives out to God - Why?
a.
Jonah said, This is just what I knew
would happen!
1)
I knew it over 50 days ago (almost 2
months ago when you asked me the first time!
2)
THIS is the reason why I fled from you to
go to Tarshish
3)
THIS is why I did not want to go to
Nineveh in the first place!
b.
Because I know you
1)
I know that you are gracious, and
merciful
2)
Slow to anger
3)
You have such great kindness
4)
And that you enjoy changing your mind
about judgment and condemnation!
c.
And it is because of YOU God that Nineveh
won’t now be destroyed!
1)
They have responded to God's Word!
2)
They have repented!
3)
They have turned from their wicked ways!
4)
And You God have seen their hearts!
5)
You have forgiven them all their sins!
6)
Your Grace has prevailed!
7)
Your wrath has now been turned away!
8)
The Ninevite nation was safe!
9)
In fact, it would continue for another
150 years, until the days of Nahum the Prophet!
10)
And such a scene upset Jonah! He was
angered deeply!
d.
And I don’t like that about you!
3.
Grace had interfered with his Ministry! I
don't like THIS kind of grace!
1)
People choosing to Repent of their wrong
attitudes, had ruined HIS attitude!
2)
God was blessing when He was supposed to
be cursing!
3)
Jonah had placed his own feelings above
the very lives and welfare of tens of thousands of souls!
4)
That's WHY he was angry!
5)
Such attitudes characterize our anger
today too!
4.
So, I don’t want to follow you anymore –
I want to follow and obey a different kind of a God – one that destroys
my enemies, and hates who I hate!
5.
Wow! How could a real Man of God like
Jonah react to anything in such an out-of-control way? And yet, Jonah is
not the exception to the rule!
C.
Jonah Still Wants to Quit (Jonah 4:3)
1.
Tried to quit when he fled on that boat
for Tarshish, and still wants to quit!
2.
Hated the Ninevites… (his sworn enemies)
3.
Upset at God
4.
Hated his own life!
5.
Wanted to just die! “I am asking you God
to just kill me”
a.
I can’t stand to live knowing that my
enemies will be allowed to live and will not condemned for all the
wrongs they have done!
b.
It would be better for to die than to
live any longer
c.
REALLY? Yep! Really!
d.
To Jonah, his life was over. He could
never go home.
e.
His people, the Jews would never forgive
him for being the man who went and showed such wicked people how to be
saved!
D.
God’s One Question (Jonah 4:4)
1.
Now, When God asks a question, you better
think long and hard about the answer!
2.
Because God does not ask anyone questions
in order to discover the answer! He already knows the answer. He is
asking because we NEED to know the answer!
a.
Adam where are you?
b.
Moses, what is that in your hand? and Who
has made your mouth?
c.
Balaam, what men are these with you?
d.
Peter, do you love me?
3.
So, God asked Jonah a simple question…
a.
Does it help you to be angry?
b.
Is anger good for you?
c.
Is it good at all that you are so angry?
d.
Is it even right that you are angry?
e.
You want ME to be angry - but when I am
not, YOU want to take over huh?
4.
Those are VERY good questions that you
and I need answers to!
IV.
Application
A.
Is Our Anger Really That Bad?
1.
Let's let the Bible tell us:
a.
Eccl 7:9. "Be
not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of
fools."
1)
Think about it! That says it all!
2)
Jonah is upset both at the beginning and
at the end of the Book!
3)
He is not acting like a believer – in his
anger, he is acting like a fool!
b.
James 1:19,20 “Wherefore,
my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow
to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”
c.
Proverbs 22:24-25, "Make
no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not
go: lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul."
2.
Jonah was wrong to be angry – both at God
and at the Ninevites when they repented
a.
It is only right to be angry at sins, but
not people
1)
For if we are angry, not with men but
with the sins of men, and if we hate and persecute, not men, but the
vices of men, they we are rightly angry, our zeal is good.
2)
But if we are angry, not with sins but
with men, if we hate, not vices but men, then our anger is wrong, and
our zeal is bad.
b.
Thirty seconds of genuine repenting would
have restored the fellowship between Jonah and God. But Jonah's
stubbornness and pride prevailed.
3.
What about you, dear friend?
a.
Has your temper robbed you of the grace
of God?
b.
Are you bitter at God because He did not
obey YOUR will?
c.
Are you wrapped up in the "little things"
of life, maybe not worms and gourds and the weather, but little
nonetheless?
d.
Have you today missed the vast scope of
the Grace of God? That it is intended for more than just you and the
people you love???
e.
Have I missed the purpose of the grace of
God? (Luke 5:32)!
B.
I know some of you will say
“anger is not always wrong!"
1.
You are correct!
2.
We need to be angry at the Devil!
3.
And at sin around us!
4.
The apostle Paul wrote, "Be
ye angry, and sin not." Ephesians 4:26
5.
And HERE is a good use for anger Proverbs
25:23. "The north wind driveth
away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue." The
next time a gossip or a person with critical spirit comes around,
spreading his garbage… Look him right in the eyes! With no smiles and no
nods and no encouragement! Look angry! He will not tarry long! Your
angry countenance will drive him away! He will sense that you do not
want to hear his slander!
6.
Mark 3:5 tells us of our Lord, perfect
and sinless, "And when He had
looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of
their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he
stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other."
There's an example of righteous indignation, anger without a taint of
sin!
C.
But still, in the vast majority
of Bible references to anger, it is condemned or belittled or
discouraged. Often outright forbidden!
D.
I pray the Holy Spirit of God
will "attach" some of these verses to our hearts! If so, anger will
have a more difficult time rooting itself into our lives!
1.
"Wise
men turn away wrath." Proverbs 29:8 alone should do the job!
2.
Proverbs 15:1 adds a little practical
advice. "A soft answer turneth
away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."
3.
Learn this phrase, "slow to anger!" It's
from Proverbs 15:18. "A wrathful
man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife."
4.
Look at this one. "An
angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in
transgression." Proverbs 29:22
5.
And here's a comparable verse, too good
to omit. Proverbs 16:32 declares, "He
that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his
spirit than he that taketh a city."
6.
Even women can have a temper (Prov 21:19;
23:24) Don’t think only men have a problem with anger!!!
a.
"It
is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an
angry woman." Proverbs 21:19 presents quite a choice, doesn't it?
b.
Again, "It
is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling
woman and in a wide house." Proverbs 23:24
7.
So, "Let
all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be
put away from you. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
" Ephesians 4:31,32
V.
Conclusion (Luke 5:29-32)
A.
Jonah was Furious – Have you ever been that way?
B.
He is Angry at God
1.
Didn’t like God being nice to his enemies
– to someone who didn't deserve it - wanted justice, wrath, disaster on
them, not an opportunity for them to repent, and be forgiven!!!
2.
Has God made you angry – boxing you in,
trying to change you and make a better man or woman out of you?
C.
Jonah Wanted to Quit on God – like a lot of folks I know. God
doesn’t do things THEIR way, so they literally jump ship, and fall off
the map, and get into some serious trouble!
D.
God’s Question Applies to All of us…
Doest thou well to be angry?
1.
Wouldn’t it be MUCH better to repent
ourselves of our OWN sinful attitude towards our problems, and the will
of God?
2.
Wouldn’t it be much better to rejoice at
God’s kindness being offered to wicked people, instead of just His
wrath?
3.
Aren’t we just poisoning ourselves when
we stay angry? Our Christian testimony, our reputation, our ability to
do anything more for God! Have we become blind to the grace and the
kindness of God?
4.
Anger will blind you, unless you learn
how to deal with it
E.
Jesus died on the cross under
the righteous wrath and anger of God at your and my sin – so we don’t
need to be angry anymore!
F.
The only way to be spared the righteous
wrath of God is by humble, sorrowful repentance towards God (2Peter 2:9)
and child-like faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ!
G.
Are you finally willing to own up to YOUR
wicked lifestyle, and your anger and be saved? |