SATURDAY 30.12.2017
KEY NUMBER 11
BE ANGRY
The Christian life is a free gift of God granted us by the Lord Jesus
Christ as it is written in *Ephesians 2:8*
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: *[it is] the gift of God.*”
However in any promised land there are giants to confront and obstacles
to overcome. That’s why the Bible records that the children of Israel conquered
the promised land at the price of wars and battles, as it is written in *Joshua 11:19*
"There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: *all [other] they took in battle.*"
However, to fight one does not only need sophisticated weapons. We also
and above all need an inner force, an inner energy, an inner impulse and an
inner motivation. This force is called holy anger.
All those who have been used by God for exploits in the Bible in one
area or another, have all been men of the same nature as we, as James says
"Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.". (James 5:17)
But the difference lies in the fact that in order for God to use them
effectively, he has injected into them a dose of his holy anger for them to
succeed.
THAT’S WHY IN 2018, IF YOU MUST SUCCEED,
BE ANGRY! WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
There is an evil anger which comes from the flesh and therefore makes one
a carnal man. God does not take pleasure in this carnal anger ( *James 1:20*). On the other hand, more
than 60 times in the Bible, it is mentioned the expression anger of God or
anger of the Lord (Romans 1:18, Numbers 11.10, 33 etc.)
In the same way that there is love, peace or joy of God, there is also
the "wrath of God": that which God feels and expresses when men sin,
when they live in malice, when the devil torments men with all kind of diseases,
infirmities and oppressions; or when his people go through affliction. *There are things that make God angry, and
the person filled with the Holy Spirit should feel this holy wrath.*
According to Scriptures, Jesus presents himself as one who is gentle and
humble of heart. This attribute of Christ is undoubtedly proven in all the
Gospels and confirmed in Acts 10:38:
" *God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who
went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for
God was with him.*".
Still in the Gospels, we see the same Jesus, gentle and humble of heart,
taking the whip and whipping the money changers, overthrowing their tables and
dispersing their goods. Why ?
Because the house of his Father has been diverted
from its original purpose to be the house of prayer for all nations.
From the moment that you received Christ in your life, you have become
the Father's house. You are the habitation of the Spirit of God. You are the
habitation of Christ. Can God be happy when your life does not reflect the
original purpose for which you were created? Can he be happy when you live in
poverty and misery? Can he be happy when you are sickly, stagnant,
unproductive? Can he be happy when his house that is your heart becomes a den of
thieves (demons, evil spirits, ...)?
Answer to it yourself and
understand why you must be angry in 2018!
*AGAINST WHAT AND AGAINST WHO
SHOULD YOU BE ANGRY?*
*1) Do not be angry with God.
It's a curse and it's a trap of the enemy to keep you captive.*
In *1 Samuel 1,6*, the Bible
says that Hannah was teased by Peninnah who wanted to make her angry with God because
of her bareness. Instead of being angry with God, Hannah moved closer to him
and increased her consecration to the point of making a sacrificial vow of her
firstborn.
The same thing happened with Job who, despite everything that happened
to him as misfortune, suffering, and misery, and despite his wife who urged him
to curse God, the Bible says of him that he never said anything wrong against God
to the point that God restored to him double of all that he had lost.
*2) Do not be angry with men
because it is a sin in the eyes of God.*
This is what Paul instructs in *Ephesians
4:26* "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your
wrath:"
*3) Be angry against the devil and
his demons who manipulate men with the purpose of stealing, killing, and
destroying.*
In *Ephesians 6:12*, Paul
says, “For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].”
In *Revelation 12:12*, the
Bible clearly shows that the devil came down to earth not for fun, but with
great wrath against the children of God because he knows he has short time.
If as a child of God, you know that the devil is in a great anger
against you, what are you waiting for to be also angry against him ? What are
you waiting for to be angry against his works?
*4) Be angry against any Goliath
who insults the name of your God*
When David heard Goliath insulting the God of Israel, he did not remain silent
and insensitive. He even did not allow himself to be intimidated. Rather, with
faith, he went ahead to confront and kill him so that the shame should stop and
the glory of God should be restored.*
What in your life is insulting your God? Is it joblessness? Is it
sterility? Is it the status quo?
WHAT TO DO ?
1) Like Jesus in the temple, identify and confronts whatever in your
life is not conformed to God's original purpose for you. With the authority of
the Word, engage yourself a spiritual warfare to overturn what is to be
overthrown, to disperse what is to be scattered, to restore what is to be
restored, and to restore what needs to be restored.
2) Do not get used to abnormal situations that insult your God and compromise
God's standard for you (poverty, sickness, status quo, sin, bad habits, etc.).
Reject it with faith until you see it back to normal.
SO SHALL IT BE!
JESUS IS LORD!
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