Sunday 08:11:13

Thanks to Andy Stanley for his teaching on guarding your heart. Today's is the most devastating. Greed, jealousy, guilt - we've talked about. They disturb relationships. Why do we carry anger? b/c we've been hurt. Someone has taken something from us. We can get rid of it. Not simple, not quick. Ephesians 4:25-27 Paul knew what it meant to be hurt, mistreated. He says that we can get rid of anger. It's not a matter of circumstances, but of the heart. Be angry - yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. Carry your anger for a short time. Don't carry it. There are some issues you cannot resolve in a day. Do not give the devil an opportunity. When you carry anger, you open a door to the devil, an opening to your heart. You know people who carry anger wreak havoc everywhere they go. It can affect people who had nothing to do with your anger. Jealousy says, "God owes me" Guilt says, "I owe you" Greed says, "I owe me" Anger says, "you owe me" A sense that your ex owes you b/c they stole your marriage Every time you're hurt, there's a sense that someone took something from you. It's like an open account. I will keep it open until you pay me back. The worst thing you can do to yourself is to carry the anger from childhood to adolescence, adolescence to adulthood or marriage. If up you don't get rid of it, you'll loose sight of whee it came from. You'll be angry with the people around you and they can't figure out why. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. They cannot do anything to close the account. It happens in marriage all the time. People get blamed for all kinds of things b/c they never dealt with their anger. God wants you to close the account. It's devastating to you and the people around you. Ephesians 4:28-32 V. 31 get rid of all bitterness, malice. People who are angry have been hurt. We spend so much time defending why we're angry, but our focus is on how to get rid of it. But they owe me. Getting rid of anger takes fairness and the open account of the table. I know it wasn't fair. I know you were a victim. V. 32 Forgive. It's hurting you and the people around you. Forgiveness is canceling the debt. You don't owe me. You should have been there You should have kept your vow. Forgiveness closes the door to the the accuser. Forgiveness closes accounts that have been open maybe for years. Forgiveness breaks the power of anger in your life. There are horror stories. We want to hold people responsible, but carrying anger doesn't help. Paul says, forgive as you've been forgiven. None of us were innocent before God, we sinned against him, but God forgave us. He canceled our debt. He sent his son to die for our sin. "I've got anger, pain, rejection, but if you can cancel my debt, I can cancel the people who've hurt me." They cannot pay you back anyway. They can't give you back your childhood, your first marriage. Forgiveness breaks the power of anger in your life and clears out our hearts. 1. Identify who you're angry with. Your temptation will be to point to the people close to you now. But go back a season or two. 2. Decide what was taken from you. Not a quick process. Keep a list. If you're going to forgive the debt, you have to know what you're forgiving. 3. Cancel the debt. Make the decision. Made a list, burned it. Bury it in the yard under a cross. Remind yourself. He doesn't owe me anymore. Don't let the sun go down on your anger. "What did they take from me? I'm going to forgive." Close the books and close the door. You will feel those feelings to want to pay them back. The day will come when you see them again and y won't feel the way you used to. You'll hear their name and not say anything bad about them. What's happened? God has set you free. Guard your heart above all else. It is the wellspring of life.