Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hinn, and I want to welcome our listeners on Apple, Spotify, and those of you enjoying this on our YouTube video podcast format. If you're new to our ministry, be sure to subscribe on our YouTube channel and go to for thegospel.org to learn more about our team, our vision, our mission, or if above and beyond your local church commitment you want to partner with our ministry financially and help us to produce these resources for free, which is what we do, then you can do all of that at forthegospel.org. Thank you to those who pray and who share these resources and for those of you who give to help us produce them. On today's episode, it's part three of a three-week series we've been going through on anger. We have been through episode one, which is understanding anger. We have looked at sinful anger versus righteous anger. And now, in this episode, how to deal with your anger. Let's get right into these. I'm going to walk you through some key principles and next steps, if you will, so you can take action regarding your anger. Number one, no more excuses. One of the primary reasons people do not deal with their anger is because they excuse it. Maybe after an outburst, they or you say, you know, I just can't help it, or, you know, I'm a passionate person and that's just how I am. Or someone might say, he or she made me lose my temper. I wouldn't have reacted that way if they hadn't first instigated me. A sports analogy is helpful here when you think about how often the retaliator in sports is penalized. And yes, the instigator should be dealt with, but the retaliation is what people remember. It's what the referee sees and then ends up honing in on and penalizing. In the same way, sure, you may have to deal with difficult people. There may be someone who's instigating you. Maybe somebody cut you off on the freeway. Maybe you didn't get what you wanted, or your expectations weren't met, and your frustration has been stirred up. But making excuses for your explosively negative reaction that leads to sin is what will stand out the most. Nobody likes excuses, and it models a lack of ownership by people who don't want to step up and take responsibility for their sin. Christians take ownership, if you will. We don't blame God for our sin. We don't blame God for our temptation. We give him credit for our sanctification. We give him credit for changing our hearts, but we are the ones who take the credit for sin. We are responsible. We need to take ownership and stop making excuses. If you're gonna quote unquote deal with your anger, of course, with God's help, he is the one who gives you the power to do it. You need to stop blaming people for your lack of emotional control. It is not anyone who makes you lose your temper, it is you who loses it. So, no more excuses. That's the first place to start if you're gonna deal with your anger. Next, distance yourself from angry people. Proverbs 22, verses 24 to 25 says, do not make friends with a person given to anger, or go with a hot-tempered person. Or you're gonna learn his ways and you will find a snare for yourself. Now, when you struggle with anger, one of the keys to dealing with it is removing stumbling blocks and temptations and influences in your life that will spur on your anger. Simply put, this anger is contagious. Angry people will stir each other up. They will allow emotions to take over, they'll throw self-control out the window, and it's a false sense of confidence as people find their strength in the collective anger that is around them, only to then leave a wake of destruction in their path. Think of the BLM riots and looting and violence in the streets and rampant conflicts during the COVID lockdowns, and you had politics and you had a pandemic and some very volatile culture wars all intersecting at the same time. People were angry. Some rightfully so. But when angry people get together, they rarely diffuse one another. Instead, it's like pouring gasoline on a fire. The wisdom from Proverbs 22, verse 25, is that you're trapping yourself in a very dangerous snare by becoming friends with a habitually angry person. By getting around them and jumping in with them, you are going to catch, if you will, their anger. Their anger is contagious, so avoid them. That's what the Bible tells us to do. One of the most obvious examples of this type of mob mentality when it comes to anger is in Acts 19, verses 23 to 34. I want to read it to you directly from Luke's account in the book of Acts. Acts 19, and we'll pick it up in verse 23. It says, About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the way. This is a bit of a riot that's about to happen at Ephesus, and the way is Christ and the gospel being preached. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, that's one of the false gods. Artemis is one of the Ephesians' false gods, was bringing no little business to the craftsman. In other words, they had a pretty successful idol making business. These he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades and said, Men, you know that our prosperity depends on this business. You see in here that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. I love it. Paul the Apostle bringing the gospel and calling out false gods. Not only is there danger that this trait of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless, and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence. They were really upset. They wanted to defend their false goddess, Artemis. When they heard this they were filled with rage. Oh, there we go. He stirred them up. And they began crying out, saying, Great is Artemis of the Ephesians. The city was filled with confusion, so now it starts to spread. And they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. Also, some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. So then some were shouting one thing, and some another. For the assembly was in confusion, and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. I'll stop there. Do you see how that mob mentality filled with anger getting stirred up leads to chaos? But also, there's a whole bunch of people there that don't even know why they're angry. They're just shouting out angry phrases, they're just confused by everything. But you know what? Hey, people are angry, so let's throw stuff, let's lose it. This is what the Christian avoids. Now, apply that to maybe day-to-day relationships where people around you at work aren't necessarily throwing things or becoming a crazy angry mob, but they're off in the corner, brooding and stewing. They're slandering the boss, they're gossiping, they're complaining, they're criticizing, they don't like how certain things are, and that begins to stir up a culture in your office environment, or if you're a Christian ministry worker, far be it from this to be reality, but it happens in the church. Or maybe it's not even your vocation at an office in the world, or church work as a vocational minister, but just as a church member. People working each other up instead of avoiding the angry mob. Stay away from it. You'll feel peace, you'll feel joy, and it will be a blessing to your life, especially if you're already dealing with a sin of anger in your own heart. Third, confess your sinful anger. The bottom line here is your anger is not going to be resolved until you get it out into the light, and that begins with confessing it to Christ. The Bible provides us with a supernatural picture of what happens when we come to Christ and we get honest about our sin. First John 1 9 says, if we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. That passage is one of my favorites. Obviously, I'm a sinner, you're a sinner, and I think I need Christ. It helps me and you embrace the promise of God's grace and his forgiveness. But what about a way to resist anger? First Corinthians 10 13 is really helpful here. The Bible reminds us no temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, and God, who is faithful, will not tempt you beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide you a way of escape also that you may be able to endure it. What is Paul saying to the church at Corinth? You've got a way out. You can escape sin. God has not made it so that you have no way out. He's not simply throwing temptation in front of you. He's not the author of that, and then also saying, Well, good luck to you. You're on your own. No. God is faithful. He does not tempt you beyond which you are able. He provides a way of escape that you also may be able to endure it. We need to humbly remember that sinful anger, like all sin, is not unbeatable. Confess it, look to Christ, trust his power, and fourth, walk by the Spirit. The temptation to explode can be resisted, but you've got to look to Christ for help, and you ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to overcome anger. Galatians 5.16 is a huge key to this. One of my favorite passages in the Bible, Paul says, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the deeds of the flesh. That word walk is the Greek word parapiteo, and it means to be preoccupied with something, as if to say, be so preoccupied with the things of the spirit that you don't have time or space to carry out the deeds of the flesh. How else would someone bear the fruit of the spirit just a few verses later in Galatians 5, which includes self-control, unless they are preoccupied with the Spirit of God or the things that revolve around the Spirit of God? I believe another key to this element is the filling of the Spirit, which means to be under the total influence of the Spirit of God. Colossians 3.16 says, let the word of Christ dwell within you richly. The result of that is a singing, joyful, thankful Christian, and that's parallel to Ephesians chapter 5, verses 18 to 21, where Paul says, Don't be drunk, but be spirit-filled. And it's clear that a saturation of God-centered, spirit-oriented pursuits will keep us from the heavy influence of sin. And thus we are filled and we are walking faithfully by the Spirit, and we're going to bear fruit. Will you ever be perfect? No, not on this side of heaven. But can you become a person who bears the fruit of the Spirit regularly, habitually, and exhibit self-control by the power of the Spirit? Absolutely. By being preoccupied with the Spirit, the things of God, the Word of God, singing, being thankful, serving, fellowshipping, putting a lot of things in your life, and if you will, in your calendar, occupying your time with the things of God. What kind of influences do you fill your mind with? Do you hang around people who are angry? Do you follow angry pastors or do you go along with angry people? Do you associate with those that are frequently given to rage? Do you listen to angry music? Do you watch anger-filled entertainment? Do you justify sinful outrage with your own rationale? Double check what you're filling yourself up with, and you will quickly find that is the key to walking by the Spirit. Fifth, seek counsel regarding your anger. If you need help, get counseling. I remember a season early on in my conversion where I needed biblical, practical, wise counsel regarding emotions and anger. I had been feeling deep frustration. I had been feeling disillusionment. I had been kind of separated from my family and the prosperity gospel, and my identity at that time was all wrapped up in who my family was and what I was a part of. I felt that confidence because of where I came from, and all of a sudden, nothing. I'm just kind of on my own. And even though I had Jesus and I felt like I had everything, there's these heart pains and heart issues where you feel hurt, but also you begin to feel these sinful frustration, and you're wondering what's not sinful and what is. There's a lot of confusion. And it was all wrapped up around the false teaching I was involved with and the lies that I had been fed. And once I was saved, I needed help from an older Christian counselor to sift through what was sinful anger. What were things I need to let go of and forgive? And what was righteous anger? What was me trying to right all my wrongs and what was faithful proclamation of the truth? There were family members who I deeply loved. I never had an issue with them. And they were involved in the false doctrine. I went from loving them and feeling like everything was fine to then the Lord opening up my eyes. And while I still looked at them with eyes of love, I thought, wow, you are a liar. You have taught false things. You're leading people to hell. How do I reconcile what I feel now about what you do with the way I feel about who you are? I do love you as my family member. And these are things that you go through in various ways, and we all do in different circumstances. And we need help to rightly compartmentalize the desire for peace, the love for others, and the ability to be righteously angry with what people are doing when it's pointing people to hell or hurting others because of sin. For pastors, this can be especially challenging as you have to navigate the need to call out someone's sin or perhaps with church discipline, deal with someone and be righteously angry over their sin, but also needing to love and restore. Nobody does this perfectly, and even pastors do well to seek biblical counsel, whether with their fellow elders, of course, in a plurality of leaders at a church, but even employing older, wiser pastors as friends and counselors, perhaps from another church, if you are younger in the ministry or you're sort of on your own at a church where you don't have access to a lot of older counsel within your church, seek it out. If you're a person who wrestles with anger and you have been abused, you've been through verbal, physical abuse, maybe sexual abuse, or you're one of those people that brews and stews on anger, and eventually you seek revenge by your own hand, or you become passive aggressive because someone maybe hurts you, or you're a victim of someone else's sin, or you just are a generally aggressive person and you find yourself firing off when in conflict, get help. Seek biblical counsel and deal with that anger. You will find balance and a proper channel for dealing with those emotions. You're going to learn to navigate intense relational conflict with a much cooler head. And while nobody does this perfectly, and we all still have moments where we need to pray, take a breath, maybe even apologize because our emotions got the best of us and we need to relax, we will see a slowing down of that cycle of sinful anger that erupts when we seek godly counsel and get practical help for our anger, leading to the final practical step for dealing with your anger. Stay accountable regarding your anger. Stay accountable. You need good people around you to tell you hard things. I feel like I'm always saying this, but if you've never heard it before, Proverbs 27, 6 is a go-to verse for accountability. It says, Faithful are the wounds of a friend, deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. Your true friends are going to help you stay accountable. They're going to tell you hard things. They're going to love you in the midst of telling you those hard things. And then they're going to walk with you as you navigate absorbing those hard truths. Staying accountable looks like having people in your life who, when you're wrestling with genuinely sinful anger, don't fuel your fire, but rather they say something like, Hey friend, Romans 12 19 reminds us, leave room for the wrath of God. He's going to deal with this his way. Don't worry. He's going to deal with this in his time. Be wise with your emotions. Reel it back in. Be slow with your words. And look to Christ for help. Surrounding yourself with a mob, only reverberating the echo chamber of your anger is the worst idea for you and I when we are looking to stay accountable regarding our emotions and sinful anger. Complainers, criticizers, gossips, slanderers, angry exploders, and all types of ungodly folks who regularly engage in that behavior find their confidence in having fellow company that's as miserable and malcontent as they are. But the godly Christian seeks accountability from those who would steer them in the path of truth, no matter how much the flesh wants to be fed with prideful affirmation. This is the wisdom that James talks about. It is pure, it is peaceable, it is unwavering, it is filled with good fruits. It is the opposite of demonic, worldly, dark wisdom. So seek accountability from those who operate in God's wisdom when it comes to their emotions. So to recap, no more excuses, distance yourself from angry people, walk by the Spirit, confess your sin, seek counsel regarding your anger, and stay accountable regarding your anger. You notice the pattern? You lay down every encumbrance that would derail your faithful walk with the Lord. You get away from people that are steering you the way of unrighteousness, and you get around people that would push you and steer you towards righteousness. You look to Christ ultimately. You and I can't overcome anger on our own strength. You can't sanctify yourself. You've got to bring that sin to the only Savior who can solve your issue of sin, Christ. And you walk by the Spirit. You ask the Holy Spirit to fill you, you fill your mind with his word, you renew your mind. How? By filling it with the Word of God. And what happens when that two-edged sword begins to slice and dice your heart and your life, and your mind is filled with truth. What else is there to do but those sins to fall away or fade away from your patterns? When you fill your life with those things, that is a literal acting out of resist the devil and he will flee. How do you resist him? By yelling, I rebuke you, devil, get away from me, and I'm not going to be this angry person. No, no. You don't need to shout off into the air. You fill your life with the word of God. You meditate on it. You abide in Christ and you look to the Spirit of God for power to overcome sin and you watch as the enemy sees your life and simply comes to the conclusion that he just can't get a foothold anymore in this particular area. It does work. You can overcome anger. Look to Christ and trust his word. I hope this series has helped you understand anger and discern the difference between righteous anger and sinful anger, and then also stir your thoughts with some practical steps for dealing with anger. As always, thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for praying, and thank you for being so generous with giving towards this ministry. We are excited about the rest of the year. We have so many more resources coming your way and filming shoots booked and key topics that we're going to hit on. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe on YouTube for all the free teaching resources that we're putting out every single week and really now every single day. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. For now, keep on living for the gospel.