Anger vs. Righteous Indignation
01/05/19 (10/28) Video Broadcast
We are ready to begin the study portion for today’s broadcast. How many of you have a-just a little-I mean maybe just a minor issue with anger? Hardly any of us are immune to the possibility of the emotion of anger certainly coming out certain moments and with that sometimes comes a tendency to justify it, and say – “Well, it’s righteous indignation”. And there’s a difference between, you know, righteous indignation-there is, and someone having an anger problem. So, we’re gonna examine this topic today, which is entitled
“ANGER VS. RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION”. When someone does something harmful, we know that it’s wrong, of course, and therefore, our tendency might be to choose anger and to justify it saying – “Well, they shouldn’t have done that. That person made me angry”. It is not possible for anyone to make you do anything of that sort; you choose on your own to be and express the emotion of anger. Now, we might have some anger inside which we’re trying to let the Holy Spirit of Yahweh take control of. But there’s a difference between an anger that you feel in your heart and it being expressed in a way that is arrogant or harmful to others. We’re gonna be discussing this very topic today, and what the scriptures actually teach on this particular topic of anger. So many times, I have sometimes been guilty of sometimes been guilty of seeing more than I wanted to see this anger. And there are certain dangers with anger. Anger is what ultimately leads, often many times to murder and other things that come out of slander and many other things. So, looking at the scriptures, it says:
‘You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am Yahweh. ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him – this we talked about last week-giving and receiving correction-but then this particular thing right here-vengeance. ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The word translated vengeance coming from the original Hebrew text-
Is the word naqam-means to avenge, take vengeance, revenge, avenge oneself, be punished, to entertain revengeful feelings – “I’m going to get back at that person-they have done wrong to me, and I am going to get my revenge, and I am going to get back at them”. Yahweh says “No-you do not do that” – that’s what He says. Now it’s in the call form actually in this particular text-to avenge, take vengeance, entertain vengeance, revengeful feelings. So, we should not be entertaining vengeful or revengeful feelings and allowing them to take root in our hearts. There is a danger in doing so, and so, we have to be careful about what is going on in our hearts, and guard our hearts against sinning against our Heavenly Father, and allowing ourselves to be vengeful in our attitudes and/or our actions. The same principle is taught in the New Testament as well in the book of Romans
chapter 12, verses 19-21: Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says Yahweh. Therefore, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. How do you overcome evil with good? See to avenge ourselves is an act of anger and wrath. And what He’s saying here is-give place to it; we should allow Yahweh to take on that role of vengeance and wrath. We, ourselves need to show what? – Love to those who are doing evil to us. We don’t do evil in return. They insult us-they do something wrong to us, and then we “out evil” them. Instead, we “out love” the other person-they are hungry, we give them something to eat, they are thirsty, we give them something to drink, and by that we don’t become overcome by evil ourselves, but we overcome that evil with good-good things. It is not our place to express wrath or vengeance-strictly forbidden in the Torah and the Law of Yahweh. And we see here in the New Testament, it is Yahweh’s place to exhibit that wrath and vengeance. And we really need to be careful that we are not placing ourselves in the position of where our Heavenly Father is supposed to reside, and by that making an Elohim or Mighty One out of ourselves-an idol out of ourselves-assuming that we’re the ones who need to execute wrath and judgment and all of our wrath and vengeance on the earth. He says specifically- “Do not do so”.
Now it may seem unfair, you know, or somehow wrong for Yahweh to express anger, wrath or vengeance, and then for Him to forbid us from doing so, but we need to understand that Yahweh’s initial response to our sin is ultimately love. And because of His love for us, He sent His own son to die for our sins. His initial response is not to take vengeance, otherwise, we would be all wiped out; His initial response is to show love. Unbelievers sometimes balk at the idea that Yahweh could ever be vengeful towards sinners. I’ve heard atheists mock our faith saying – “Your God sent a Savior to save you from what? – a Hell, He Himself created. But they don’t understand that just as it is right for a nation to establish a criminal justice system to dish out appropriate punishment on criminals-and no one says we shouldn’t have that. Yahweh Himself, has a criminal justice system based on His righteous standards, and He is right and just as the Creator of all things, to dish out proper sentencings, guidelines and punishments toward criminals who violate those standards. And unlike policemen and law enforcement officials who cannot watch every person 24 hours a day, Yahweh can.
The eyes of Yahweh are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3. And so the unrighteous deeds committed by men in secret, Yahweh is well aware of. If policemen were able to see all the things that Yahweh is able to see, probably this entire world would be sitting in prison, including the policemen themselves- HA! - and the judges. But there wouldn’t, you know, be anyone to watch over anybody if we didn’t have any kind of system in place. But that’s the depravity of man-the human condition.
It is our actions that cause us to be guilty before our Creator, and we are all deserving of wrath and vengeance for having harmed one another-for having disregarded Him. So, unless we understand that and humbly accept that-unless we humble ourselves and acknowledge we are all guilty-guilty-guilty before His throne, we will never understand or fully embrace or see the need for a Savior. There was a woman who washed Yahushua’s feet with her tears because she knew that she was an awful sinner-she knew she was. And she desired to be clean.
And Yahushua said of her: “Therefore I say to you, her sins -Luke 7:47, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” It is often the greatest sinners who seem to love Yahweh the most. They seem to have the closest connection a lot of times-the most passion-the most zeal-the most humility. And those who don’t see their sins as really being all that bad-maybe they don’t have that same zeal and appreciation
for grace. Especially if their sins are the kind of sins that people in this world wouldn’t think were all that bad. But it’s not until we-in our minds and our hearts-separate ourselves from the worldly standards of righteousness, and go through the scriptures and find out His standard of righteousness that we really realize how we really do fall so, so short, and how we so, so much need Yahweh’s grace and mercy every single day of our lives. And so, as I shared last week-
Yahushua said: “I say to you for every idle word that men shall speak; they will give account of it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Think about that for a minute. You won’t just be judged by Yahweh’s words and what He has to say - you’ll be judged by your words, and what you have to say-the way you may have hurt other people with your words-the way you have expressed sin with your words. We will be justified or condemned, and so we need to understand this. Probably most of us feel when we
express anger or vengeance toward others, we have a cause; we might even believe that in our hearts, it’s just righteous anger. We may feel that just as the nation’s justifying establishing a criminal justice system, we can dish out wrath and vengeance on others who do wrong. The quote “righteous indignation” may be one of the most common excuses for anger and vengeance. After all-hey-the other person was not acting righteously. Doesn’t Yahweh also get angry and execute vengeance at times? Even in this age-doesn’t He get angry when wrongs are committed? James and John-they thought so.
It came to pass-in Luke 9:51- It came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.
And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Master, do You want us to command fire to come down out of heaven and consume them, just as Eliyah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, He came to save them.”-He had come to save them. So, they thought they were operating in this power from Yahweh’s Spirit; they thought-they were confident enough to believe that by the power of Yahweh’s Spirit, could actually command fire to come down out of Heaven and consume the Samaritans. But in reality,
the Samaritans and the Jews were always at odds with each other, and there was some kind of a self-centered motive for wiping out the Samaritans. Because the Samaritans and the Jews-they were always at each other’s throats about everything, they did not like each other at all. And so, he was betraying-James and John were betraying their inner hatred toward the Samaritans. And so, there was not a Yahweh-centered motive for wiping out the Samaritans-there was a self-centered motive for wiping out the Samaritans. And Yahushua said to them – “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of” - right? So, just as they were susceptible to-assuming they were ready to even call Yahweh, and just knew that Yahweh was on board with everything. Just as they were thinking they were going to express righteous indignation and wrath-well really, it was self-centered-they were blinded-they don’t even know what spirit they’re of. I think we also could be susceptible-not really wanting to be angry because of-this is Yahweh’s Spirit working through us or whatever-this is our own personal hatred or bitterness or rage over whatever. And it’s actually not of the spirit of our Father in Heaven, but another spirit. As our Savior said-
“You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. The Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them”.
So, how can we know the difference? It can be very difficult at times to know the difference because our own heart deceives us. Proverbs 28:26
says: He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered. You ever hear somebody say that? – “Well, I just trust my own heart, you know-I’ll just follow my own heart on this”- and that’s foolish. Scripture says-you trust your own heart, you’re a fool. What you need to do is walk wisely-walk in the wisdom of our Heavenly Father. Yahweh said in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, Yahweh, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. You see the hearts of James and John were tested and tried, and it was
revealed that they were really being led by demonic spirits instead of Yahweh’s Spirit. And, so then what would Yahweh say if our hearts were tried while we were trying to justify our anger as “righteous indignation”? It was wrong for the Samaritans to reject the Messiah, but the response of James and John were also wrong. It was not the time for vengeance-the Samaritans were simply deceived and were probably reacting out of their own hurts-out of their own anger due to their rivalry with the Jews. You don’t end this vicious cycle by responding “tit for tat”- hurt for hurt-evil for evil-reviling for reviling. Just like a lot of relationships today-it’s not until one chooses not to avenge-it’s not until someone says – “I’m going to take the high road-I’m going to walk in the Spirit-I’m going to show love-rather than hurting the person back, I’m going to give a blessing, and I’m going to respond with kindness rather than unkindness-that’s what my Savior came to do for me. He didn’t come to destroy my life-He came to save it by expressing love when I was being hateful to Him-when I did not give Him proper attention in my life-when I ignored Him, and when I hurt Him”. There’s a time for Yahweh to express vengeance, but James and John were not discerning the time; they were operating in the wrong spirit. And it is when we’re feeling rage within us that we’re most susceptible to operating in the wrong spirit. Now there were times when Yahweh used His people to fulfill His desire for vengeance. And the Spirit of Yahweh may influence men actually to express that vengeance. In Ezekiel
25:14, it says: “I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the Master Yahweh.
First Samuel chapter 11, verse 6 says: Then the Spirit of Elohim came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. So, the Spirit of Yahweh can come upon us and create anger within us. We have to discern what the Spirit of Yahweh is doing on the earth. Before our Messiah came, Yahweh gave man the opportunity to
establish a righteous nation-a nation that could be a light to the world-judging unrighteousness-cleansing the earth of evil, and Messiah came to be the King of that nation, but He was rejected. And so, now we are in this time when Yahweh is calling sinners to repentance, and He’s saying He’s coming to save men’s lives-not destroy them. And we have to have His discernment, His understanding, His spirit and willingness to let Him expose our own prejudices-our own unclean motivations, and we need to be certain we’re not misapplying the scriptures with speak of Yahweh’s vengeance on enemies to justify our own anger toward everyone-family member, believers, whoever. So, if we are feeling this emotion of anger welling up within us, we need to ask ourselves – “Is this really, really, truly from the Father or is it really out of my own personal frustrations-my own impatience-my own stress-my own wounds from the past-in short-is it because of me-me-that I’m upset at this moment? Maybe my pride is hurt-maybe I’m embarrassed-or is it because I’m just so spirit-filled? I’m getting this from on high”. LOL! “When I see righteous indignation in the Bible, I feel the same, you know-so here I am-in tune with the Holy Spirit-expressing all this anger”. You need to be sure where it’s really coming from. Now David-King David-regarding Yahweh’s enemies-
He says: Do I not hate them, O YAHWEH, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with a perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O Elohim and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. See, David hated Yahweh’s enemies, but I notice right after that, he asked Yahweh to search his heart and see if there was any wicked way in him. He was humble about it. What I’m hearing is David saying – “Yahweh, I have this hatred for Your enemies-search me out to see-is this really from You or is this from my own anxieties and wickedness in my heart? Lead me in the way of everlasting life.” And, I really believe David, by the Holy Spirit of Yahweh can
recognize the kinds of men who will not ever repent-who will not ever change-who will continue to have the reprobate mind, and who are destined for the Lake of Fire. And yes, it’s probably safe to express Yahweh’s anger, vengeance, hate, whatever toward those who utterly reject Him to their dying breath. But how’re you gonna know who’s who? Okay? So, we just need to be humble about it. And there is a place for vengeance and a place for justice-if a crime is being committed, there are governing authorities to punish evil doers. Scripture says-
Romans 13:1-2: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from Elohim, and the authorities that exist are appointed by Elohim. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of Elohim, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is Elohim’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is Elohim’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
Therefore, you must also be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are Elohim’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. So, law enforcement authorities
are there as Elohim’s ministers if they are judging righteously; they don’t always do that. But, if they do, they are an extension of Yahweh’s authority. Also, we as parents of children, are operating as Elohim’s ministers to our children-we discipline them when they sin-we train them to function under the rule of His Word-and if they ever decide to rebel against that authority-that’s completely their choice, but they will eventually bump into other ministers too called law enforcement officers and officials, and judges, who will ultimately be extensions of Yahweh’s authority. But this is where things get easily muddled. We see that Yahweh instructs us not to avenge but to show love; at the same time, He expects man to be instruments of His righteous judgment-avengers who execute His wrath on those who partake in practicing evil. It’s for these reasons we can so easily justify our own anger. I’m sometimes asked – “What would you do if someone broke into your home and tried to harm you or your family? Certainly, that would be a good time to be angry, right?” Well, not necessarily. Really, it’s during times of stress and attack I most need to be using discernment and wisdom rather than out of control anger to lead my decision-making. I need reason rather than rage-wisdom rather than wrath, and that may include harming and disabling the other person who’s attacking-it may require quick action. But what I need right then and there is clear-headed thinking to guide my quick actions rather than out of control rage and emotion. But this kind of thing is so rare; we have to be careful we’re not looking for reasons to justify what was really just an anger problem. It’s recorded in scripture-Yahushua did one time get angry, but I noticed He never damaged anybody with that anger. In Mark chapter 3, verse 1-3-
He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So, they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.”
Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. So, Yahushua’s anger was not aroused based on some self-centered thing; it wasn’t simply because they were doing something to Him personally-it was out of grief and sorrow that their hearts were so, so hardened-so obstinate. They could not see-it was Yahweh who was doing the healing. If He didn’t approve of the healing on the Sabbath, the man would never have been healed. But they were so set on destroying
the work of Elohim, they didn’t recognize their own blindness to it. But Yahushua would not be characterized as a person that frequently exhibited anger. It’s only mentioned once that I can find. His use of anger was not accompanied with doing harm to someone. Again, His anger was only toward the hard-hearted unbelievers who were so obstinate, they could not even see that Yahweh must have approved of that healing or He wouldn’t have allowed it in the first place. Another time you might suggest He may have exhibited anger was in John chapter 2, verse 13-
It says: The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Yahushua went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers were doing business. And when He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” You know, I’ve often thought about this-
Of all the sin that Yahushua saw in His lifetime-of all the wrongs He saw a man do, scripture only records one time where He personally took action to physically put a stop to it. With a whip of cords, He drove out the animals-I don’t know if He threatened any human beings with the whip of cords. But He drove them all out of the temple and knocked over the tables of the moneychangers pouring out all the money onto the ground. He was obviously operating under the direction of the Holy Spirit. It would be easy for us to see anger could’ve been expressed at that moment, but it seems to me we shouldn’t be using this incident to justify some way our own anger issues. Rather, we should look at that and say – “You know - Wow! - of all the wrong things that Yahushua saw men do, the one thing He put a stop to was right there-turning the House of Yahweh into a marketplace-enterprising individuals looking to make a buck come on temple grounds and buy and sell animals for making sacrifices to Yahweh-capitalism right there on temple grounds.” I’ll tell you brothers and sisters-me personally-it grates at me and irritates me to no end the way I see, what I think is really the same thing happening in various ministries. I’ve even been to Messianic synagogues-you know-things for sale on the back table on the Sabbath of all days, and many ministries charging exorbitant prices for DVDs and CDs and books-that’s a whole other subject, but I could do-I mean-you know it only takes about three or four dollars to make a six DVD set-maybe not even that. But anyway, what I’m getting out of this is not justification for anger, but understanding how strongly Yahweh feels about making His house a house of merchandise. And what we see in the Messiah’s character is that He was very patient with His disciples, who were sometimes immature and earthly minded. But can you ever recall one time He got angry with His disciples? One time He did sharply rebuke Peter, but actually, that was a rebuke to the enemy who was operating in Peter in the sense that he was whispering things in Peter’s ears. And He said - “Get behind me Satan”. But even so, His words could’ve been spoken without any drop of anger and they would’ve had the same power. He could’ve just said – “Get behind me Satan-you’re not mindful of the things of Elohim, but things of men.” It didn’t have to be spoken in anger. Yahushua never allowed personal slights to result in anger, and that’s the difference, and that’s what Yahweh’s speaking of in
this book of Leviticus about not taking vengeance. Getting angry and vengeful over personal grudges and bitternesses-Yahushua was the one we want to imitate. The day will come-yes, He will pour out His wrath
on heathen nations, but when He was on the earth, He understood it’s not the time to show vengeance-it’s the time to call people into the sheepfold-call people into relationship with Messiah and with Yahweh. He did not appear as a wrathful, vengeful or angry Savior, who lashed out at others who hurt Him or insulted Him. Instead, just as Leviticus teaches, He showed love and compassion instead loving us as Himself. In Luke 23, verse 33-34
it says: When they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Yahushua said, - “Get Um, Get Um” – No, He said - “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. He didn’t lash out-He didn’t avenge.
First Peter 2:21 says: For to this you were called, because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow in His steps: “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. That’s because vengeance is Yahweh’s; He will repay. Yahushua not only refused to avenge, He actually asked Yahweh to have mercy on those who were
hurting Him. And that’s what His disciples also practiced. Acts chapter 7:54-Stephen was a mighty man filled with the spirit and had a very strong sermon to the Sanhedrin and convicted them of their sins.
It says that: When they heard these things-talking about the Sanhedrin-the court-Jewish court-they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of Elohim, and Yahushua standing at the right hand of Elohim, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of Elohim!”
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on Elohim and saying, “Master Yahushua, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Master, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. So, Stephen’s spirit-filled response was not to express anger in return for their obstinate hearts-instead he cried out to Yahweh with a loud voice saying - “Master, do not charge them with this sin.” And who was standing there during this time? It says there was a young man there-his name was Saul or Shaul in the Hebrew-consenting to Stephen’s death and in the spiritual realm, it appears Yahweh answered
Stephen’s prayer because Saul was given grace, right? It was Paul the apostle that
this martyr-Stephen was actually praying for-saying “Do not charge them with this sin.” And there was Paul-a young man at the time, and I wonder if his prayer is ultimately what resulted in Paul coming to salvation and repentance through the Messiah, and helped to turn the world upside down-and brought the good news of Messiah to innumerable gentiles throughout the ages. So, the very first person who died
for their faith and belief in the Messiah was praying for Paul the apostle-that the sin would not be charged to him. And it turned out Paul ended up getting into a place where he would repent and believe in Messiah. Acts 9:15
says: The Master said to him, - regarding Paul – it says - for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” So, the prayer for mercy upon Paul, and those who were standing there, perhaps this was Yahweh’s answer to that prayer. Yahweh will sometimes work in this way. So, Yahushua’s saying
you know: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, “that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. It wasn’t a new concept though-this idea of avoiding conflict-love your enemies-it goes all the way back to Genesis 26
where we can find Isaac-it says: Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names, which his father had called them. Also, Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there.
But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “the water is ours.” So, he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So, he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So, he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now Yahweh has made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land.” He didn’t fight-didn’t argue-demand his rights-he was just a humble man like Abraham.
Another example-Jacob mentioned regarding Laban-he said: “These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. “Whatever was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. “There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. Jacob didn’t avenge-he committed himself to Yahweh who judges righteously, and Yahweh was with him.
I think of all the trouble that Job’s friends put Job through. In spite of that, Job prayed for those friends. Job 42:10. I’m sorry; I guess I don’t have that-Job 42:10 up there. But Yahweh restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends, and gave Job twice as much as he had before. So, that’s the pathway to getting a blessing ourselves really. We don’t avenge-we show love praying for those that wrong us. Exodus 23,
verse 4 says: “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. “If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it. So, basically what he’s saying is love your enemies. This is not a new concept that came out of the New Testament-it’s an old concept. Love your enemies-do good to those who hate you-pray for those who spitefully use you, just as Job,
a patriarch-prayed for his friends. So, it’s always been that way, even in a war, Yahweh has been known to use this very thing. Can you think of anytime in the Bible a nation came against Israel and Yahweh used the “love your enemies” approach to defeat them? There is-Second Kings 6.
It says: Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” And the man of Elohim sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of Elohim had told him. Thus, he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.
Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “None, my Master the king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” So, he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” And it was told him, saying, “Surely, he is in the Dothan.
Therefore, he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of Elohim arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So, he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said, “YAHWEH, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
Now Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man you seek.” He led them to Samaria. So, it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, “YAHWEH, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were inside Samaria!
Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and, they went to their master. So, the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel. LOL! I find that pretty comical. Maybe Yahweh has a sense of humor here-doesn’t he? So, we see here Yahweh came in and defended Syria from Samaria from attack and not one of those raiders
were even harmed. Another example in Ecclesiastes
9:14 says: There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man. Therefore, I said: “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless, the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.” It can be with us also in a very personal level with us.
When we’re dealing with people who are hurting others with their actions, we don’t always have to extend the proverbial right foot of fellowship and kick them out immediately. Sometimes what they need is someone to show love to them in return. And the same is true when unbelievers come against us. They need to see our Savior manifested in our walk before they will really believe there’s anything real to what you believe. Especially unbelievers-they may be so used to people who respond to their evil with evil-so accustomed to avenging wrongs, and when we stand there and do not avenge, but instead give them a blessing - “Why do you do this-why are you doing this for me?” It’s a strong witness to what Messiah has done for us. And we might actually be the only presentation of the good news of Yahushua they ever see, and the only Bible they ever read, right? And so, we’re given an opportunity here to share what our Savior did for us in that while we were wronging Him, He loved us anyway. So, we need to be aware of choosing anger and vengeance when someone disagrees, for instance, with our Biblical understanding. You know, many times I’ve seen people who have an understanding of the Word-the scriptures-they get angry with relatives and friends, and they justify it-calling them names and mistreat them because of their beliefs. And sometimes, they’ll call us names and mistreat us because of our beliefs. But it’s never justified to go that route. Let me give you an
illustration. Person A gets mad at Person B and says something harmful to them-hurtful. And so, Person A expects Person B to get back at them, right? But then they don’t, and instead, they send back love instead of hatred. And so, Person A then is going to have a higher sensitivity to their own conscience and begin to maybe even feel conviction about how they’re treating Person B. It’s when Person B says – “I’m going to love in return for their hatred and not hate.” – that this vicious cycle ultimately can come to an end. And so, Person B says – “I’m going to love the one who hates me.” And Person A says – “Oh, I’m gonna do it again anyway.” - and hurts them again, but Person B chooses to love anyway. It activates the conscience in the other person when you choose love. Otherwise, they’re so busy justifying themselves-why? Because you hurt them back-now they can hurt you back. It can actually be a means-
a very effective means of evangelism when you proclaim our Savior; when someone wrongs you-you bless them. But you have to do it out of a genuine love for them in your heart-not just manipulation. Because if they don’t respond the way you’re hoping they will, then you get angry about it, then you really didn’t have the right motive. Your intention is to proclaim our Savior at all times in your love for even those who hurt you-you’re proclaiming our Savior to them. And if they don’t respond to it-that doesn’t mean – “Well that didn’t work-now I’m gonna go back to evil for evil again.” It doesn’t work that way. Now, this brings us to another point.
Yahweh sent Nathan to David. David was in the middle of committing adultery. He murdered a man and committed adultery. Nathan the profit came to David and said to him: “There were two men in the city, one was rich and one was poor. “The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. “But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
“And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” So, David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this is a son of death! “And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”
Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says Yahweh Elohim of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ‘I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! So, what we have here is
I’ll continue reading: Why have you despised the commandment of Yahweh, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. ‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ And so,
sometimes what happens is-we can get so angry about someone else’s sin, and the reason why we get angry really is not any other reason other than we’re dealing with the same thing-and yet, we may be blind to it. And so, we’re reacting strongly, but really, we are guilty of the same very thing. It’s called projection.
“Psychological projection is a theory in psychology in which humans defend themselves against unpleasant impulses by denying their existence in themselves, while attributing them to others. For example, a person who is rude may constantly accuse other people of being rude. According to some research, the projection of one’s negative qualities onto others is a common process in everyday life.” You see, we might so easily see the sin in others
or what we perceive as a sin in others because really, we have the same thing ourselves. Sin is a universal problem, and so, if we get so, so angry because someone does something that they shouldn’t do-don’t we realize that we’ve also sinned in our life as well? And that’s one key area we need to find ourselves listening to Yahweh if we choose to express anger, and not the enemy or not our own guilt or not projection. We need to be humble enough to recognize we all have this thing called a “sin problem”, right? All of us do, right? So, if we forget that, then our anger can easily come out of pride and arrogance and not from the Spirit, but rather an unclean spirit. In fact, sometimes we see the sins in others more because we, somewhere deep inside are dealing with it because we have that high degree of familiarity with it, and therefore, we think we see in others, and really, they may not even have it all, right? So, David’s anger was greatly aroused over something he himself was guilty about. It’s a cover-it covers up our own guilt to get angry at others for doing some wrong thing. The example in here-the unfaithful marriage partner constantly accuses the faithful one of adulterous affairs. The person’s feeling guilt inside for their own ways, and then projects that guilt onto the other partner by reacting angrily toward them for giving that person a look or-most of it can be just imaginations-because they themselves are guilty of those things, and so, they react angrily toward the other partner for things not even motivated by adulterous eyes or adulterous anything. I have seen men force their wives to stare at the ground when they’re at the grocery store by jealousy, and they themselves had lustful eyes. But it’ll become a source of endless false accusations and anger and rage. And so, we see David who was guilty of having taken advantage of a man in lower status and took from him-getting angry over a situation that was essentially his own practice. And that’s one of the many ways a person can feel justified in their anger, when in reality, it’s not from the Spirit of Yahweh-it is like James and John, you know, influenced by a different spirit-wanting the Samaritans to be destroyed. So, we can also be influenced by things that are not from Yahweh’s spirit when it comes to anger. Our accusations and vengeful attitudes can come from the flesh and not from Him. So, what we really need to do is just humble ourselves. What we really need to do
is pray for people. First Timothy 2: I desire therefore, that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom. We think we’re able to solve their sin problem by expressing anger. But why not bring the problem to the one who can solve it? –
Yahweh-don’t choose wrath and don’t choose doubting-lift up holy hands and pray for that person, right?
James 1:19 says: So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of Elohim. Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and received with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. See, the wrath of man will not produce righteousness in
another person. You need to realize that we are also in a position of need, when it comes to the “sin problem”, right? And so, the heart is just a world of iniquity, and there are so many things in our heart that we can use to justify our anger, and so many things in our heart that can result in our anger being from an unclean spirit. And so, the better course to take is-just don’t choose anger. It’s probably better if you just avoided it all together, you know-just be careful.
Ephesians 4:31: Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as Elohim in Messiah forgave you. 00:59:49.000 --> 01:000:40.000 Galatians 5:19: The works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of Elohim. Outbursts of wrath-if this is something you regularly practice, scripture says such a person will not inherit the kingdom of Elohim-Serious business!
Real serious, right? But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering – the word longsuffering means in Hebrew slow to anger, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law. And those who are Messiah’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. So, this is what the Spirit of Yahweh will produce-these actions: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness-not outbursts of wrath, but longsuffering. It’s spiritually dangerous to justify our practices of outbursts of wrath. Instead of justifying outbursts of wrath, let’s seek to be so in tune with the
Holy Spirit of Yahweh in Heaven that we know when something is from Him and something is really from our own wayward hearts. We have to be so careful-especially between family members-between brothers and brothers. There may be no-no force more dangerous or destructive to relationships than anger. If you ask a rebellious teenage child if either of his parents had an anger problem-most of the time-not all the time, but most of the time, they’ll say “Yes”. One time there was a father and mother that were in a counseling office trying to bring their son in to straighten him out. The son was exhibiting all kinds of anger. And so, they sat in the counseling office, and they wanted the son to cooperate with the counselor, and the son would not cooperate with the counselor. And so, the dad got angry at the son and yelled at him-said hurtful words. Well, where did the son get his anger problem? Right?
I’ve noticed that people who were more expressive with their emotions sometimes have a greater difficulty with anger-at least when it comes to holding back the anger they feel inside. If they are a more expressive person, they actually have a harder time holding it back. Those who are less expressive of their emotions may not be overtly angry in volume and angry in the way that they are-like flying off in a rage, but instead it can be the same anger
that uses cold, calculating, cutting statements or even intimidating expressions employed by those who are less expressive of emotions. So, when we’re talking about anger, let’s recognize where it is. And most of the time when you have this anger being expressed; you will feel your nostrils flaring out. And actually, the word in Hebrew for anger is the same word translated “nose”. LOL! And you’ll feel it-the nose flaring out, you know-you may not even-you’re trying to hold it back-you know, but you’ll feel it, and then you’ll know-and you’ll see how the other people will respond in a not so positive way. So, we have to be aware and in tune with the Holy Spirit, and we need to be humble and realize again-we’re not the only ones-that person over there is not the only one with an anger problem and with a “sin problem”- let’s just say it. And we all have this “sin problem”. So, what do we need to do? - We need to humble ourselves and see each other as really having a lot of the same issues, and say – “You know what? – brother, sister, son, daughter, I’ve wronged you-I chose anger. Please forgive me. Brother, sister, son or daughter-we all have a problem with being an overcomer. I wanna come along side you and help you. I wanna be an overcomer myself.” The best way is humility-humility. Let’s all humble ourselves before our Creator-seeking forgiveness for ways we may have hurt other people. And for those of you who may not be in a relationship with our Heavenly Father-and maybe your heart is straying because of the actions of parents or people who claim to be believers and yet, are not acting like one who
bears the fruits of love and joy and peace-don’t ever, ever, ever judge our Heavenly Father or His son by the actions of human beings on the earth. Let Him define Himself. He is patient, and if we are in tune with His Spirit, we will express love-we will express joy and peace and longsuffering and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. Let’s pray.
Father Yahweh-in the name of Your son Yahushua-thank You for your love-thank You for Your patience with us and for not being wrathful and vengeful with us in the ways that we have hurt others. Thank You for being patient and sending Yahushua to die for us and cleanse us of all sin-knowing we need Him so. Help us Father Yahweh to express that same kind of patience and longsuffering and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control to our family members and to those around us. We desire to be in tune with Your spirit expressing Your character, and the character of our Savior, our Master and Redeemer-Yahushua the Messiah. For through Him we live-through Him we can receive forgiveness as we confess our sins to You. And I pray, Father Yahweh that anyone within the sound of my voice who knows they have an anger problem, and they’ve hurt people with their anger-I pray Father, You would convict them to approach those they’ve hurt-to seek forgiveness-bring restoration between family members-between brother and brother-between sister and sister-even between believer and unbeliever-healing may take place and salvation may come as we humble ourselves before You. In Yahushua’s great name we pray. For truly Yours is the kingdom, power and glory forever and ever. In Yahushua’s name-Amein.
“ANGER VS. RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION”. When someone does something harmful, we know that it’s wrong, of course, and therefore, our tendency might be to choose anger and to justify it saying – “Well, they shouldn’t have done that. That person made me angry”. It is not possible for anyone to make you do anything of that sort; you choose on your own to be and express the emotion of anger. Now, we might have some anger inside which we’re trying to let the Holy Spirit of Yahweh take control of. But there’s a difference between an anger that you feel in your heart and it being expressed in a way that is arrogant or harmful to others. We’re gonna be discussing this very topic today, and what the scriptures actually teach on this particular topic of anger. So many times, I have sometimes been guilty of sometimes been guilty of seeing more than I wanted to see this anger. And there are certain dangers with anger. Anger is what ultimately leads, often many times to murder and other things that come out of slander and many other things. So, looking at the scriptures, it says:
‘You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am Yahweh. ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him – this we talked about last week-giving and receiving correction-but then this particular thing right here-vengeance. ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The word translated vengeance coming from the original Hebrew text-
Is the word naqam-means to avenge, take vengeance, revenge, avenge oneself, be punished, to entertain revengeful feelings – “I’m going to get back at that person-they have done wrong to me, and I am going to get my revenge, and I am going to get back at them”. Yahweh says “No-you do not do that” – that’s what He says. Now it’s in the call form actually in this particular text-to avenge, take vengeance, entertain vengeance, revengeful feelings. So, we should not be entertaining vengeful or revengeful feelings and allowing them to take root in our hearts. There is a danger in doing so, and so, we have to be careful about what is going on in our hearts, and guard our hearts against sinning against our Heavenly Father, and allowing ourselves to be vengeful in our attitudes and/or our actions. The same principle is taught in the New Testament as well in the book of Romans
chapter 12, verses 19-21: Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says Yahweh. Therefore, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. How do you overcome evil with good? See to avenge ourselves is an act of anger and wrath. And what He’s saying here is-give place to it; we should allow Yahweh to take on that role of vengeance and wrath. We, ourselves need to show what? – Love to those who are doing evil to us. We don’t do evil in return. They insult us-they do something wrong to us, and then we “out evil” them. Instead, we “out love” the other person-they are hungry, we give them something to eat, they are thirsty, we give them something to drink, and by that we don’t become overcome by evil ourselves, but we overcome that evil with good-good things. It is not our place to express wrath or vengeance-strictly forbidden in the Torah and the Law of Yahweh. And we see here in the New Testament, it is Yahweh’s place to exhibit that wrath and vengeance. And we really need to be careful that we are not placing ourselves in the position of where our Heavenly Father is supposed to reside, and by that making an Elohim or Mighty One out of ourselves-an idol out of ourselves-assuming that we’re the ones who need to execute wrath and judgment and all of our wrath and vengeance on the earth. He says specifically- “Do not do so”.
Now it may seem unfair, you know, or somehow wrong for Yahweh to express anger, wrath or vengeance, and then for Him to forbid us from doing so, but we need to understand that Yahweh’s initial response to our sin is ultimately love. And because of His love for us, He sent His own son to die for our sins. His initial response is not to take vengeance, otherwise, we would be all wiped out; His initial response is to show love. Unbelievers sometimes balk at the idea that Yahweh could ever be vengeful towards sinners. I’ve heard atheists mock our faith saying – “Your God sent a Savior to save you from what? – a Hell, He Himself created. But they don’t understand that just as it is right for a nation to establish a criminal justice system to dish out appropriate punishment on criminals-and no one says we shouldn’t have that. Yahweh Himself, has a criminal justice system based on His righteous standards, and He is right and just as the Creator of all things, to dish out proper sentencings, guidelines and punishments toward criminals who violate those standards. And unlike policemen and law enforcement officials who cannot watch every person 24 hours a day, Yahweh can.
The eyes of Yahweh are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3. And so the unrighteous deeds committed by men in secret, Yahweh is well aware of. If policemen were able to see all the things that Yahweh is able to see, probably this entire world would be sitting in prison, including the policemen themselves- HA! - and the judges. But there wouldn’t, you know, be anyone to watch over anybody if we didn’t have any kind of system in place. But that’s the depravity of man-the human condition.
It is our actions that cause us to be guilty before our Creator, and we are all deserving of wrath and vengeance for having harmed one another-for having disregarded Him. So, unless we understand that and humbly accept that-unless we humble ourselves and acknowledge we are all guilty-guilty-guilty before His throne, we will never understand or fully embrace or see the need for a Savior. There was a woman who washed Yahushua’s feet with her tears because she knew that she was an awful sinner-she knew she was. And she desired to be clean.
And Yahushua said of her: “Therefore I say to you, her sins -Luke 7:47, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” It is often the greatest sinners who seem to love Yahweh the most. They seem to have the closest connection a lot of times-the most passion-the most zeal-the most humility. And those who don’t see their sins as really being all that bad-maybe they don’t have that same zeal and appreciation
for grace. Especially if their sins are the kind of sins that people in this world wouldn’t think were all that bad. But it’s not until we-in our minds and our hearts-separate ourselves from the worldly standards of righteousness, and go through the scriptures and find out His standard of righteousness that we really realize how we really do fall so, so short, and how we so, so much need Yahweh’s grace and mercy every single day of our lives. And so, as I shared last week-
Yahushua said: “I say to you for every idle word that men shall speak; they will give account of it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Think about that for a minute. You won’t just be judged by Yahweh’s words and what He has to say - you’ll be judged by your words, and what you have to say-the way you may have hurt other people with your words-the way you have expressed sin with your words. We will be justified or condemned, and so we need to understand this. Probably most of us feel when we
express anger or vengeance toward others, we have a cause; we might even believe that in our hearts, it’s just righteous anger. We may feel that just as the nation’s justifying establishing a criminal justice system, we can dish out wrath and vengeance on others who do wrong. The quote “righteous indignation” may be one of the most common excuses for anger and vengeance. After all-hey-the other person was not acting righteously. Doesn’t Yahweh also get angry and execute vengeance at times? Even in this age-doesn’t He get angry when wrongs are committed? James and John-they thought so.
It came to pass-in Luke 9:51- It came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.
And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Master, do You want us to command fire to come down out of heaven and consume them, just as Eliyah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, He came to save them.”-He had come to save them. So, they thought they were operating in this power from Yahweh’s Spirit; they thought-they were confident enough to believe that by the power of Yahweh’s Spirit, could actually command fire to come down out of Heaven and consume the Samaritans. But in reality,
the Samaritans and the Jews were always at odds with each other, and there was some kind of a self-centered motive for wiping out the Samaritans. Because the Samaritans and the Jews-they were always at each other’s throats about everything, they did not like each other at all. And so, he was betraying-James and John were betraying their inner hatred toward the Samaritans. And so, there was not a Yahweh-centered motive for wiping out the Samaritans-there was a self-centered motive for wiping out the Samaritans. And Yahushua said to them – “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of” - right? So, just as they were susceptible to-assuming they were ready to even call Yahweh, and just knew that Yahweh was on board with everything. Just as they were thinking they were going to express righteous indignation and wrath-well really, it was self-centered-they were blinded-they don’t even know what spirit they’re of. I think we also could be susceptible-not really wanting to be angry because of-this is Yahweh’s Spirit working through us or whatever-this is our own personal hatred or bitterness or rage over whatever. And it’s actually not of the spirit of our Father in Heaven, but another spirit. As our Savior said-
“You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. The Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them”.
So, how can we know the difference? It can be very difficult at times to know the difference because our own heart deceives us. Proverbs 28:26
says: He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered. You ever hear somebody say that? – “Well, I just trust my own heart, you know-I’ll just follow my own heart on this”- and that’s foolish. Scripture says-you trust your own heart, you’re a fool. What you need to do is walk wisely-walk in the wisdom of our Heavenly Father. Yahweh said in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, Yahweh, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. You see the hearts of James and John were tested and tried, and it was
revealed that they were really being led by demonic spirits instead of Yahweh’s Spirit. And, so then what would Yahweh say if our hearts were tried while we were trying to justify our anger as “righteous indignation”? It was wrong for the Samaritans to reject the Messiah, but the response of James and John were also wrong. It was not the time for vengeance-the Samaritans were simply deceived and were probably reacting out of their own hurts-out of their own anger due to their rivalry with the Jews. You don’t end this vicious cycle by responding “tit for tat”- hurt for hurt-evil for evil-reviling for reviling. Just like a lot of relationships today-it’s not until one chooses not to avenge-it’s not until someone says – “I’m going to take the high road-I’m going to walk in the Spirit-I’m going to show love-rather than hurting the person back, I’m going to give a blessing, and I’m going to respond with kindness rather than unkindness-that’s what my Savior came to do for me. He didn’t come to destroy my life-He came to save it by expressing love when I was being hateful to Him-when I did not give Him proper attention in my life-when I ignored Him, and when I hurt Him”. There’s a time for Yahweh to express vengeance, but James and John were not discerning the time; they were operating in the wrong spirit. And it is when we’re feeling rage within us that we’re most susceptible to operating in the wrong spirit. Now there were times when Yahweh used His people to fulfill His desire for vengeance. And the Spirit of Yahweh may influence men actually to express that vengeance. In Ezekiel
25:14, it says: “I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the Master Yahweh.
First Samuel chapter 11, verse 6 says: Then the Spirit of Elohim came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. So, the Spirit of Yahweh can come upon us and create anger within us. We have to discern what the Spirit of Yahweh is doing on the earth. Before our Messiah came, Yahweh gave man the opportunity to
establish a righteous nation-a nation that could be a light to the world-judging unrighteousness-cleansing the earth of evil, and Messiah came to be the King of that nation, but He was rejected. And so, now we are in this time when Yahweh is calling sinners to repentance, and He’s saying He’s coming to save men’s lives-not destroy them. And we have to have His discernment, His understanding, His spirit and willingness to let Him expose our own prejudices-our own unclean motivations, and we need to be certain we’re not misapplying the scriptures with speak of Yahweh’s vengeance on enemies to justify our own anger toward everyone-family member, believers, whoever. So, if we are feeling this emotion of anger welling up within us, we need to ask ourselves – “Is this really, really, truly from the Father or is it really out of my own personal frustrations-my own impatience-my own stress-my own wounds from the past-in short-is it because of me-me-that I’m upset at this moment? Maybe my pride is hurt-maybe I’m embarrassed-or is it because I’m just so spirit-filled? I’m getting this from on high”. LOL! “When I see righteous indignation in the Bible, I feel the same, you know-so here I am-in tune with the Holy Spirit-expressing all this anger”. You need to be sure where it’s really coming from. Now David-King David-regarding Yahweh’s enemies-
He says: Do I not hate them, O YAHWEH, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with a perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O Elohim and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. See, David hated Yahweh’s enemies, but I notice right after that, he asked Yahweh to search his heart and see if there was any wicked way in him. He was humble about it. What I’m hearing is David saying – “Yahweh, I have this hatred for Your enemies-search me out to see-is this really from You or is this from my own anxieties and wickedness in my heart? Lead me in the way of everlasting life.” And, I really believe David, by the Holy Spirit of Yahweh can
recognize the kinds of men who will not ever repent-who will not ever change-who will continue to have the reprobate mind, and who are destined for the Lake of Fire. And yes, it’s probably safe to express Yahweh’s anger, vengeance, hate, whatever toward those who utterly reject Him to their dying breath. But how’re you gonna know who’s who? Okay? So, we just need to be humble about it. And there is a place for vengeance and a place for justice-if a crime is being committed, there are governing authorities to punish evil doers. Scripture says-
Romans 13:1-2: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from Elohim, and the authorities that exist are appointed by Elohim. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of Elohim, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is Elohim’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is Elohim’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
Therefore, you must also be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are Elohim’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. So, law enforcement authorities
are there as Elohim’s ministers if they are judging righteously; they don’t always do that. But, if they do, they are an extension of Yahweh’s authority. Also, we as parents of children, are operating as Elohim’s ministers to our children-we discipline them when they sin-we train them to function under the rule of His Word-and if they ever decide to rebel against that authority-that’s completely their choice, but they will eventually bump into other ministers too called law enforcement officers and officials, and judges, who will ultimately be extensions of Yahweh’s authority. But this is where things get easily muddled. We see that Yahweh instructs us not to avenge but to show love; at the same time, He expects man to be instruments of His righteous judgment-avengers who execute His wrath on those who partake in practicing evil. It’s for these reasons we can so easily justify our own anger. I’m sometimes asked – “What would you do if someone broke into your home and tried to harm you or your family? Certainly, that would be a good time to be angry, right?” Well, not necessarily. Really, it’s during times of stress and attack I most need to be using discernment and wisdom rather than out of control anger to lead my decision-making. I need reason rather than rage-wisdom rather than wrath, and that may include harming and disabling the other person who’s attacking-it may require quick action. But what I need right then and there is clear-headed thinking to guide my quick actions rather than out of control rage and emotion. But this kind of thing is so rare; we have to be careful we’re not looking for reasons to justify what was really just an anger problem. It’s recorded in scripture-Yahushua did one time get angry, but I noticed He never damaged anybody with that anger. In Mark chapter 3, verse 1-3-
He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So, they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.”
Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. So, Yahushua’s anger was not aroused based on some self-centered thing; it wasn’t simply because they were doing something to Him personally-it was out of grief and sorrow that their hearts were so, so hardened-so obstinate. They could not see-it was Yahweh who was doing the healing. If He didn’t approve of the healing on the Sabbath, the man would never have been healed. But they were so set on destroying
the work of Elohim, they didn’t recognize their own blindness to it. But Yahushua would not be characterized as a person that frequently exhibited anger. It’s only mentioned once that I can find. His use of anger was not accompanied with doing harm to someone. Again, His anger was only toward the hard-hearted unbelievers who were so obstinate, they could not even see that Yahweh must have approved of that healing or He wouldn’t have allowed it in the first place. Another time you might suggest He may have exhibited anger was in John chapter 2, verse 13-
It says: The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Yahushua went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers were doing business. And when He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” You know, I’ve often thought about this-
Of all the sin that Yahushua saw in His lifetime-of all the wrongs He saw a man do, scripture only records one time where He personally took action to physically put a stop to it. With a whip of cords, He drove out the animals-I don’t know if He threatened any human beings with the whip of cords. But He drove them all out of the temple and knocked over the tables of the moneychangers pouring out all the money onto the ground. He was obviously operating under the direction of the Holy Spirit. It would be easy for us to see anger could’ve been expressed at that moment, but it seems to me we shouldn’t be using this incident to justify some way our own anger issues. Rather, we should look at that and say – “You know - Wow! - of all the wrong things that Yahushua saw men do, the one thing He put a stop to was right there-turning the House of Yahweh into a marketplace-enterprising individuals looking to make a buck come on temple grounds and buy and sell animals for making sacrifices to Yahweh-capitalism right there on temple grounds.” I’ll tell you brothers and sisters-me personally-it grates at me and irritates me to no end the way I see, what I think is really the same thing happening in various ministries. I’ve even been to Messianic synagogues-you know-things for sale on the back table on the Sabbath of all days, and many ministries charging exorbitant prices for DVDs and CDs and books-that’s a whole other subject, but I could do-I mean-you know it only takes about three or four dollars to make a six DVD set-maybe not even that. But anyway, what I’m getting out of this is not justification for anger, but understanding how strongly Yahweh feels about making His house a house of merchandise. And what we see in the Messiah’s character is that He was very patient with His disciples, who were sometimes immature and earthly minded. But can you ever recall one time He got angry with His disciples? One time He did sharply rebuke Peter, but actually, that was a rebuke to the enemy who was operating in Peter in the sense that he was whispering things in Peter’s ears. And He said - “Get behind me Satan”. But even so, His words could’ve been spoken without any drop of anger and they would’ve had the same power. He could’ve just said – “Get behind me Satan-you’re not mindful of the things of Elohim, but things of men.” It didn’t have to be spoken in anger. Yahushua never allowed personal slights to result in anger, and that’s the difference, and that’s what Yahweh’s speaking of in
this book of Leviticus about not taking vengeance. Getting angry and vengeful over personal grudges and bitternesses-Yahushua was the one we want to imitate. The day will come-yes, He will pour out His wrath
on heathen nations, but when He was on the earth, He understood it’s not the time to show vengeance-it’s the time to call people into the sheepfold-call people into relationship with Messiah and with Yahweh. He did not appear as a wrathful, vengeful or angry Savior, who lashed out at others who hurt Him or insulted Him. Instead, just as Leviticus teaches, He showed love and compassion instead loving us as Himself. In Luke 23, verse 33-34
it says: When they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Yahushua said, - “Get Um, Get Um” – No, He said - “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. He didn’t lash out-He didn’t avenge.
First Peter 2:21 says: For to this you were called, because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow in His steps: “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. That’s because vengeance is Yahweh’s; He will repay. Yahushua not only refused to avenge, He actually asked Yahweh to have mercy on those who were
hurting Him. And that’s what His disciples also practiced. Acts chapter 7:54-Stephen was a mighty man filled with the spirit and had a very strong sermon to the Sanhedrin and convicted them of their sins.
It says that: When they heard these things-talking about the Sanhedrin-the court-Jewish court-they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of Elohim, and Yahushua standing at the right hand of Elohim, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of Elohim!”
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on Elohim and saying, “Master Yahushua, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Master, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. So, Stephen’s spirit-filled response was not to express anger in return for their obstinate hearts-instead he cried out to Yahweh with a loud voice saying - “Master, do not charge them with this sin.” And who was standing there during this time? It says there was a young man there-his name was Saul or Shaul in the Hebrew-consenting to Stephen’s death and in the spiritual realm, it appears Yahweh answered
Stephen’s prayer because Saul was given grace, right? It was Paul the apostle that
this martyr-Stephen was actually praying for-saying “Do not charge them with this sin.” And there was Paul-a young man at the time, and I wonder if his prayer is ultimately what resulted in Paul coming to salvation and repentance through the Messiah, and helped to turn the world upside down-and brought the good news of Messiah to innumerable gentiles throughout the ages. So, the very first person who died
for their faith and belief in the Messiah was praying for Paul the apostle-that the sin would not be charged to him. And it turned out Paul ended up getting into a place where he would repent and believe in Messiah. Acts 9:15
says: The Master said to him, - regarding Paul – it says - for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” So, the prayer for mercy upon Paul, and those who were standing there, perhaps this was Yahweh’s answer to that prayer. Yahweh will sometimes work in this way. So, Yahushua’s saying
you know: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, “that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. It wasn’t a new concept though-this idea of avoiding conflict-love your enemies-it goes all the way back to Genesis 26
where we can find Isaac-it says: Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names, which his father had called them. Also, Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there.
But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “the water is ours.” So, he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So, he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So, he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now Yahweh has made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land.” He didn’t fight-didn’t argue-demand his rights-he was just a humble man like Abraham.
Another example-Jacob mentioned regarding Laban-he said: “These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. “Whatever was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. “There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. Jacob didn’t avenge-he committed himself to Yahweh who judges righteously, and Yahweh was with him.
I think of all the trouble that Job’s friends put Job through. In spite of that, Job prayed for those friends. Job 42:10. I’m sorry; I guess I don’t have that-Job 42:10 up there. But Yahweh restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends, and gave Job twice as much as he had before. So, that’s the pathway to getting a blessing ourselves really. We don’t avenge-we show love praying for those that wrong us. Exodus 23,
verse 4 says: “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. “If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it. So, basically what he’s saying is love your enemies. This is not a new concept that came out of the New Testament-it’s an old concept. Love your enemies-do good to those who hate you-pray for those who spitefully use you, just as Job,
a patriarch-prayed for his friends. So, it’s always been that way, even in a war, Yahweh has been known to use this very thing. Can you think of anytime in the Bible a nation came against Israel and Yahweh used the “love your enemies” approach to defeat them? There is-Second Kings 6.
It says: Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” And the man of Elohim sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of Elohim had told him. Thus, he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.
Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” And one of his servants said, “None, my Master the king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” So, he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” And it was told him, saying, “Surely, he is in the Dothan.
Therefore, he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of Elohim arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So, he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said, “YAHWEH, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
Now Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man you seek.” He led them to Samaria. So, it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, “YAHWEH, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were inside Samaria!
Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and, they went to their master. So, the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel. LOL! I find that pretty comical. Maybe Yahweh has a sense of humor here-doesn’t he? So, we see here Yahweh came in and defended Syria from Samaria from attack and not one of those raiders
were even harmed. Another example in Ecclesiastes
9:14 says: There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man. Therefore, I said: “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless, the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.” It can be with us also in a very personal level with us.
When we’re dealing with people who are hurting others with their actions, we don’t always have to extend the proverbial right foot of fellowship and kick them out immediately. Sometimes what they need is someone to show love to them in return. And the same is true when unbelievers come against us. They need to see our Savior manifested in our walk before they will really believe there’s anything real to what you believe. Especially unbelievers-they may be so used to people who respond to their evil with evil-so accustomed to avenging wrongs, and when we stand there and do not avenge, but instead give them a blessing - “Why do you do this-why are you doing this for me?” It’s a strong witness to what Messiah has done for us. And we might actually be the only presentation of the good news of Yahushua they ever see, and the only Bible they ever read, right? And so, we’re given an opportunity here to share what our Savior did for us in that while we were wronging Him, He loved us anyway. So, we need to be aware of choosing anger and vengeance when someone disagrees, for instance, with our Biblical understanding. You know, many times I’ve seen people who have an understanding of the Word-the scriptures-they get angry with relatives and friends, and they justify it-calling them names and mistreat them because of their beliefs. And sometimes, they’ll call us names and mistreat us because of our beliefs. But it’s never justified to go that route. Let me give you an
illustration. Person A gets mad at Person B and says something harmful to them-hurtful. And so, Person A expects Person B to get back at them, right? But then they don’t, and instead, they send back love instead of hatred. And so, Person A then is going to have a higher sensitivity to their own conscience and begin to maybe even feel conviction about how they’re treating Person B. It’s when Person B says – “I’m going to love in return for their hatred and not hate.” – that this vicious cycle ultimately can come to an end. And so, Person B says – “I’m going to love the one who hates me.” And Person A says – “Oh, I’m gonna do it again anyway.” - and hurts them again, but Person B chooses to love anyway. It activates the conscience in the other person when you choose love. Otherwise, they’re so busy justifying themselves-why? Because you hurt them back-now they can hurt you back. It can actually be a means-
a very effective means of evangelism when you proclaim our Savior; when someone wrongs you-you bless them. But you have to do it out of a genuine love for them in your heart-not just manipulation. Because if they don’t respond the way you’re hoping they will, then you get angry about it, then you really didn’t have the right motive. Your intention is to proclaim our Savior at all times in your love for even those who hurt you-you’re proclaiming our Savior to them. And if they don’t respond to it-that doesn’t mean – “Well that didn’t work-now I’m gonna go back to evil for evil again.” It doesn’t work that way. Now, this brings us to another point.
Yahweh sent Nathan to David. David was in the middle of committing adultery. He murdered a man and committed adultery. Nathan the profit came to David and said to him: “There were two men in the city, one was rich and one was poor. “The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. “But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
“And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” So, David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this is a son of death! “And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.”
Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says Yahweh Elohim of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ‘I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! So, what we have here is
I’ll continue reading: Why have you despised the commandment of Yahweh, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. ‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ And so,
sometimes what happens is-we can get so angry about someone else’s sin, and the reason why we get angry really is not any other reason other than we’re dealing with the same thing-and yet, we may be blind to it. And so, we’re reacting strongly, but really, we are guilty of the same very thing. It’s called projection.
“Psychological projection is a theory in psychology in which humans defend themselves against unpleasant impulses by denying their existence in themselves, while attributing them to others. For example, a person who is rude may constantly accuse other people of being rude. According to some research, the projection of one’s negative qualities onto others is a common process in everyday life.” You see, we might so easily see the sin in others
or what we perceive as a sin in others because really, we have the same thing ourselves. Sin is a universal problem, and so, if we get so, so angry because someone does something that they shouldn’t do-don’t we realize that we’ve also sinned in our life as well? And that’s one key area we need to find ourselves listening to Yahweh if we choose to express anger, and not the enemy or not our own guilt or not projection. We need to be humble enough to recognize we all have this thing called a “sin problem”, right? All of us do, right? So, if we forget that, then our anger can easily come out of pride and arrogance and not from the Spirit, but rather an unclean spirit. In fact, sometimes we see the sins in others more because we, somewhere deep inside are dealing with it because we have that high degree of familiarity with it, and therefore, we think we see in others, and really, they may not even have it all, right? So, David’s anger was greatly aroused over something he himself was guilty about. It’s a cover-it covers up our own guilt to get angry at others for doing some wrong thing. The example in here-the unfaithful marriage partner constantly accuses the faithful one of adulterous affairs. The person’s feeling guilt inside for their own ways, and then projects that guilt onto the other partner by reacting angrily toward them for giving that person a look or-most of it can be just imaginations-because they themselves are guilty of those things, and so, they react angrily toward the other partner for things not even motivated by adulterous eyes or adulterous anything. I have seen men force their wives to stare at the ground when they’re at the grocery store by jealousy, and they themselves had lustful eyes. But it’ll become a source of endless false accusations and anger and rage. And so, we see David who was guilty of having taken advantage of a man in lower status and took from him-getting angry over a situation that was essentially his own practice. And that’s one of the many ways a person can feel justified in their anger, when in reality, it’s not from the Spirit of Yahweh-it is like James and John, you know, influenced by a different spirit-wanting the Samaritans to be destroyed. So, we can also be influenced by things that are not from Yahweh’s spirit when it comes to anger. Our accusations and vengeful attitudes can come from the flesh and not from Him. So, what we really need to do is just humble ourselves. What we really need to do
is pray for people. First Timothy 2: I desire therefore, that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom. We think we’re able to solve their sin problem by expressing anger. But why not bring the problem to the one who can solve it? –
Yahweh-don’t choose wrath and don’t choose doubting-lift up holy hands and pray for that person, right?
James 1:19 says: So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of Elohim. Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and received with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. See, the wrath of man will not produce righteousness in
another person. You need to realize that we are also in a position of need, when it comes to the “sin problem”, right? And so, the heart is just a world of iniquity, and there are so many things in our heart that we can use to justify our anger, and so many things in our heart that can result in our anger being from an unclean spirit. And so, the better course to take is-just don’t choose anger. It’s probably better if you just avoided it all together, you know-just be careful.
Ephesians 4:31: Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as Elohim in Messiah forgave you. 00:59:49.000 --> 01:000:40.000 Galatians 5:19: The works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of Elohim. Outbursts of wrath-if this is something you regularly practice, scripture says such a person will not inherit the kingdom of Elohim-Serious business!
Real serious, right? But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering – the word longsuffering means in Hebrew slow to anger, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law. And those who are Messiah’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. So, this is what the Spirit of Yahweh will produce-these actions: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness-not outbursts of wrath, but longsuffering. It’s spiritually dangerous to justify our practices of outbursts of wrath. Instead of justifying outbursts of wrath, let’s seek to be so in tune with the
Holy Spirit of Yahweh in Heaven that we know when something is from Him and something is really from our own wayward hearts. We have to be so careful-especially between family members-between brothers and brothers. There may be no-no force more dangerous or destructive to relationships than anger. If you ask a rebellious teenage child if either of his parents had an anger problem-most of the time-not all the time, but most of the time, they’ll say “Yes”. One time there was a father and mother that were in a counseling office trying to bring their son in to straighten him out. The son was exhibiting all kinds of anger. And so, they sat in the counseling office, and they wanted the son to cooperate with the counselor, and the son would not cooperate with the counselor. And so, the dad got angry at the son and yelled at him-said hurtful words. Well, where did the son get his anger problem? Right?
I’ve noticed that people who were more expressive with their emotions sometimes have a greater difficulty with anger-at least when it comes to holding back the anger they feel inside. If they are a more expressive person, they actually have a harder time holding it back. Those who are less expressive of their emotions may not be overtly angry in volume and angry in the way that they are-like flying off in a rage, but instead it can be the same anger
that uses cold, calculating, cutting statements or even intimidating expressions employed by those who are less expressive of emotions. So, when we’re talking about anger, let’s recognize where it is. And most of the time when you have this anger being expressed; you will feel your nostrils flaring out. And actually, the word in Hebrew for anger is the same word translated “nose”. LOL! And you’ll feel it-the nose flaring out, you know-you may not even-you’re trying to hold it back-you know, but you’ll feel it, and then you’ll know-and you’ll see how the other people will respond in a not so positive way. So, we have to be aware and in tune with the Holy Spirit, and we need to be humble and realize again-we’re not the only ones-that person over there is not the only one with an anger problem and with a “sin problem”- let’s just say it. And we all have this “sin problem”. So, what do we need to do? - We need to humble ourselves and see each other as really having a lot of the same issues, and say – “You know what? – brother, sister, son, daughter, I’ve wronged you-I chose anger. Please forgive me. Brother, sister, son or daughter-we all have a problem with being an overcomer. I wanna come along side you and help you. I wanna be an overcomer myself.” The best way is humility-humility. Let’s all humble ourselves before our Creator-seeking forgiveness for ways we may have hurt other people. And for those of you who may not be in a relationship with our Heavenly Father-and maybe your heart is straying because of the actions of parents or people who claim to be believers and yet, are not acting like one who
bears the fruits of love and joy and peace-don’t ever, ever, ever judge our Heavenly Father or His son by the actions of human beings on the earth. Let Him define Himself. He is patient, and if we are in tune with His Spirit, we will express love-we will express joy and peace and longsuffering and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. Let’s pray.
Father Yahweh-in the name of Your son Yahushua-thank You for your love-thank You for Your patience with us and for not being wrathful and vengeful with us in the ways that we have hurt others. Thank You for being patient and sending Yahushua to die for us and cleanse us of all sin-knowing we need Him so. Help us Father Yahweh to express that same kind of patience and longsuffering and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control to our family members and to those around us. We desire to be in tune with Your spirit expressing Your character, and the character of our Savior, our Master and Redeemer-Yahushua the Messiah. For through Him we live-through Him we can receive forgiveness as we confess our sins to You. And I pray, Father Yahweh that anyone within the sound of my voice who knows they have an anger problem, and they’ve hurt people with their anger-I pray Father, You would convict them to approach those they’ve hurt-to seek forgiveness-bring restoration between family members-between brother and brother-between sister and sister-even between believer and unbeliever-healing may take place and salvation may come as we humble ourselves before You. In Yahushua’s great name we pray. For truly Yours is the kingdom, power and glory forever and ever. In Yahushua’s name-Amein.