Skip to content Run: Run From Your Anger May 8 · 35 min ...more
Run: Run From Your Anger
May 8, 2024 · 35 min
This talk explores the theme of running from anger. Common reasons for anger towards God are discussed. Listeners are encouraged to embrace God's grace and love & let go of anger.
Series "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton May 8, 2024 · 35 min · "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton
This talk explores the theme of running from anger. Common reasons for anger towards God are discussed. Listeners are encouraged to embrace God's grace and love & let go of anger. ...more Show the full description Show less This talk explores the theme of running from anger. Common reasons for anger towards God are discussed. Listeners are encouraged to embrace God's grace and love & let go of anger.
Series "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
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John Mark is the Senior Pastor of the thriving Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas, where he has served since 1995.
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Running from Anger: Lessons from Jonah 0:00 Amen. We're glad you're in God's house today. Give God a hand. Well, amen. I wanna invite you to reach and grab your copy of God's word and go back to the book of Jonah. We are in Jonah chapter 4 today.0:12 Gonna look at those first 4 verses. And we started, if you're new with us both in person or online, we started a new series all the way back in Easter talking about running with purpose. And, we looked at the idea that0:23 we don't ever want to run from God, we don't ever want to run from our calling, and even if we do, then we want to turn around and run back to God in prayer, crying out for God's mercy, crying out for God's love. And,0:35 Jonah did all of those things. And, today we're going to talk about the idea that we need to run sometimes from our anger with the world and with God. How many of you from time to time you're angry?0:47 How many of you are never angry? If you're never angry, I want to be your friend. Right? Now, I definitely want to ride in a car with you because it seems like, man, it's just road rage, it's crazy. But Jonah, if you're0:58 new, he's a unique prophet. And it's not in a good way. He is the only prophet that is known more by what he did than what he said,1:10 the messages he preached. He's the only prophet that ran from God, literally physically ran from God. He is the only prophet, and we're gonna see this as we continue looking at this book.1:22 He never truly repents and gains God's heart for other people. Jonah literally led a whole city, a great city to the1:34 Lord, God showed them his grace, and Jonah responds by getting angry. See it's kind of interesting, we see Jonah here in chapter 3 as we looked at1:46 last week. Jonah responds finally in obedience, and he does what God wants him to do, but he doesn't do it with the heart that God would want us to have.1:58 And, you know, I think there are times and many many of you may know Christians that are like this, that they walk in obedience, but there's no joy. Anybody know any just point at them.2:11 No. In the New Testament, those were called the Pharisees, right? They were all about fulfilling God's law, living by the law, living by the ceremony, living by the ritual, but there was no joy in their heart and2:23 there was no smile on their face. And so today I want to talk to us about how we can run from our anger. I ran across a study, we'll put it up there. I ran across a study released December twentieth of 202:35 23. Just a couple of months ago is a survey of Americans and here's what they found. We'll put this up. 60 percent of Americans feel angry or irritable at any given2:47 time. 60 percent, that irritates me. I don't know about you. Just right now, how many of you are angry like right now? How many of you are irritated? Now2:59 you better not lie, you're in God's house. And if you drove kids to church, how many of you are a little irritated right now? Right? 60 percent of Americans feel angry or irritated. So when we think about3:11 running from our anger, 84 percent of Americans feel angrier this year or at the end of last year than they were the year before. How many of you would fit in that category? You just feel a little more3:23 angry. Alright. Good. Good. We know who to watch out for. If people are raising their hand next to you, just keep an eye on them for us. Alright. 9 percent, this is estimated by psychologists, 9 percent of Americans3:35 have an impulsive anger issue that they can't control. Alright. 25 percent of Americans frequently feel angry at home. It's not3:46 uncommon for people to feel angry on, 75 or the toll road or any other roads, but they admitted 25 percent feel angry at home. That's probably the percentage3:58 in with teenagers. Right? 38 percent of Christians are angered by the state of America right now. How many of you are4:10 Yeah. That's a hundred percent. We don't know. So the whole 38 percent are in our church. I can just tell you right there. It's all of us. There are other churches out there that they're not angry. I mean, we're just4:22 angry to look around and go, man, how is this going on? So I want to invite us to look at Jonah chapter 4. Let's look at, Jonah here today, but let's rebuild the story and set it up. Let's go back to Jonah4:34 chapter 1 verse 1. Let's look at this prophet. It said, the word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai. It says, go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it. That was the call. Because its4:45 wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah did what? Instead of going to Nineveh, it says, but Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed toward Tarshish. He went down to Joppa where4:57 he found a ship bound for that port and after paying the full fare, no discounted tickets all the way paying the fare, he got on board, sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Now, you remember what happened, we5:09 talked about this a couple of weeks ago. God sent a storm to shake them up. The sailors began to cry out and pray to their God. Jonah went to sleep. They cast lots. Sure enough, it was Jonah. Jonah said, he's got a death5:21 wish. He says, throw me overboard. They go, we don't wanna do that. We're gonna roll harder. No 1 sends in isolation. Others are gonna have to cover for you. We looked at that. If you miss those, go find those online.5:31 They finally throw him over. He is sinking to the deep. God provides a fish. The fish was not judgment, it was help. God and from the belly of the fish, Jonah cries out to God, forgive me and give me5:43 grace. God does. The fish spits him up, vomits him up on dry ground and Jonah thanks God. And we said, although there have already been a lot of miracles, the greatest5:55 miracle of the book of Jonah is that there was a chapter to it all. Because Jonah did absolutely nothing in chapter 1 to earn a chapter 2. He6:07 was disobedient. He was running from God. He hated the idea. He literally paid the fare. He, paid the fare to go in the wrong direction. He was willing to die before he was willing6:19 to obey God. It's kinda crazy, but God stepped in and literally saved him from himself. How many times, if I'm honest, has God done that for me? How many times has God saved me6:31 from who? Me, right? And so here he is, here it is. So look at Jonah chapter 3 verse 1, we'll put it on the screen. So now Jonah has thanks thanked God for a second chance.6:43 It says, the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Everybody say a second time. A second time. So here's the key. How many of you celebrate the fact that we serve6:55 a God of the second chance? Alright? And, we do. But can I tell you this, when God gives you a second chance, it's so you can7:07 still do the stuff he wants you to do? Alright? A lot of us say, man I'm just so glad for God's grace and his love and his compassion. God's given me a second chance. You know what the second chance was?7:19 To do what God told you to do the first time. And so child of God if you're sitting here and you're celebrating God's second chance, and I will tell you you're looking at a pastor who is grateful that I serve a7:31 God that doesn't just give second and third and fourth and fifth, but an infinite number of chances, but it's always a chance to then do what God wanted you to do the first time. And so pick it up, listen notice notice7:42 what it says. It says, then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, that's a great miracle. And notice what God says, now do what I told you to do the first time. Go to the great city of Nineveh and do what?7:54 Proclaim to it the message I give you. So remember, God gives you a second chance to do what he told you to do the first time. Alright. Jump down, let's see what happens in verse8:06 5. The Ninevites believe so Jonah rolls in to Nineveh. He he rolls in kind of, disappointed. He's obeying, but his heart's not in it. He's obeying, but his attitude's not right. But he goes in and8:17 preaches, probably with a little more venom, hoping he can just rail on them and then leave and say, alright I did it God, let me alone. Notice what happens in verse 5. It says, the Ninevites believed God,8:29 a fast was proclaimed, and all of them from the greatest to the least put on sackcloth. Boy, you would think Jonah would say, I'm sorry God.8:42 You're an awesome God. You're an amazing God. God, I don't know why I doubted you. I don't know why I didn't trust you. I didn't know why, I headed for Tarshish and not for Nineveh. God, you did a great thing.8:54 Now jump down. What did God do when he saw the Ninevites repent? It says when God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, that9:06 is always the goal. When you think about a sinner or someone you want to witness to or someone, man, that is headed down the wrong journey or wrong path, the prodigal in your life that you know, your greatest desire is9:17 that they would turn from their wicked ways and come back. And so notice what it says. It says when God saw, he saw it, what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, which is the goal, God9:29 relented. God relented and did not bring on them the destruction that he had threatened. You say, why would God do this? If it9:41 was an evil city and a great city, let me put it to you simply. God saw the who, not the what. See, Jonah saw9:53 everything the what that the Ninevites did evil, right? God saw the Ninevites. And Jonah is very much like us.10:05 When we think about being angry in our country, how many of you just look at the news or see something on social media or read about some event happening, and you look at it and you see what they do and you are angry?10:17 See, we're a lot like Jonah, but here's the beauty of a God who lives in a different dimension and sees from a different perspective. When you and I see the what, God sees the who.10:29 God sees the people, the Ninevites. Remember what Jesus said in John chapter 3, verse 16 and 17? He says, for God so loved the world, that's the who, that's all of them, that he gave his 110:41 and only son that whoever, notice the who not the what, believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. A lot of times we stop right there. But look at verse 17, for God did10:53 not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. See, the whole reason Jesus was sent11:05 is because God saw the who. God saw the whoever. Yes, God sees the what, but he also sees the who. Why? Because it was the who, the person, the individual, the11:17 man or the woman that was created in his image. And so God is always looking to save. The reason he sent his son is that whoever believes in him would not perish, but would have everlasting11:29 life. Then verse 17 says, man, God didn't send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might have life through him. So what's our call? Man, as we make our11:41 journey in work and life and wherever we're about and every relationship we're in, even if we're in a relationship somehow, in a conversational relationship or working with someone, when you look at their what? Their11:51 Ninevite. Just remember, God is introducing and encouraging you to remember the who. And the who, whoever that person is, male or female,12:04 that God sent his son not to condemn them, but to save them if they will simply believe in him. Here's the deal. If you wanna you know, maybe you12:16 wanna bring it all down to the core. Here it is. People matter to God.12:27 Lost people matter to God. Ninevites matter to God. The big question for us is not12:39 does God love them, is do they matter to us? Do people matter to you? Do lost people matter to you? Do the Ninevites in12:51 your life matter to you like they matter to God? That's ultimately our call. Yes, we can hate the what, but we have to understand God loves them.13:04 And God has put us in their life and we all have Ninevites in our life. God has put us in their life to introduce them to the who who13:16 truly wants to save them. You see, and that's ultimately our call and we wanna yeah. We step back and we look at what happens and what people do and how they sin and the commandments they break And we remember that, man,13:28 we were broken, but for the grace of God, there go I. We remember all of those things. But we also can look on the what they do and realize that is evil, but we can understand the God who13:39 created them still loves them and wants their salvation. So fast forward, so Jonah finally obeys, his heart's not right, his attitude's not right. Lost people, Ninevites matter to God, but13:51 they don't matter to Jonah. He's ready for, he's ready for judgment more than anything else. He preaches, they repent, God relents, alright. Now notice Jonah's response in Jonah chapter 4 verse14:03 1, here it is. But Jonah, now you've seen that a lot. There are several times as you go from chapter 1 to chapter 2, it's God said this, but Jonah. Jonah said this, but14:15 God. Now, God has relented, now we're back to but Jonah. Notice what it says, but to Jonah, this seemed wrong. Anybody in here ever looked at something and14:27 thought, that just seems wrong. It just doesn't seem right at all. Right? And that's what it says. To Jonah, from Jonah's perspective, it seemed wrong. Why? Because they were evil people.14:39 They were wicked in all of their ways, and he became angry. There's your word. How do we run from our anger? He became angry, and he prayed to the Lord, isn't this what I said said to the Lord when14:51 I was still at home? That is why. He's Jonah says, this is exactly what I knew was happened, what happened God. Is that sure enough, I would go preach to them and you would save them and I'd be15:03 fired up, because I would rather them experience judgment than grace. And so he says, this is exactly what I said would happen. And he goes, that is why I tried to force forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. He15:15 goes, I knew that you are, now notice I think these words, these Hebrew words, he's kind of dripping with sarcasm. You can almost imagine God, you know, God, here's the15:26 problem. Yeah, when I went to before I even came here, I I knew that you're a gracious God. You're a compassionate God. You're slow to anger and abounding in love. Yeah. I knew you15:38 were a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life. My guess is if I was God, I would think that's a great idea.15:51 You know, we're all about done here, Jonah. How many of you know what I'm talking about? Right? Jonah, you're you're exact that is a good why didn't I come up with that? I'm the God of the universe, yeah, I'm done with16:00 you, Jonah. Right? So it's interesting, Jonah says, alright. And by the way, he's got a death wish, right? This is not the first time, this is the second time. He said, throw me in the deep, I want all this. And now here16:11 he is, he preaches, they repent, he wants to die. Just crazy. It doesn't make any sense to me. He says, Lord relents, now the Lord now Lord, he says, take my life away for it is better for me to die than to live.16:23 But the Lord replied, is it right for you, Jonah, or us to be angry? So that's the question. Is it right for16:35 us to be angry? So if you're living in an angry space, an angry life, angry world, angry emotions, angry heart, angry attitude, how do we run from our anger even when God's in the midst of it? Thought number 1, stop16:47 playing God. Don't play God. Just let God be God. You say, where do you see that? Verse 1, but to Jonah, that's his16:59 perspective, this seemed very wrong, and he became angry with God. Ran across another couple of articles about people who are angry with17:10 God. Just be honest, and do it fast so God won't take notice. How many of you, let's be honest, from time to time you've been angry at God? Okay, some of you are so scared.17:23 Be honest. How many of you have been a little angry with God? A little disappointed with God? Combination of just looking through some research, reading some devotions, and just things I've experienced with people17:34 sitting in my office as they're walking through stuff. Here are kind of my top 6 things that I've seen why people get get angry with God. Number 1, when our lives aren't17:46 turning out like we hoped. That that there are some people, you know, there there are some people I've noticed this, that they live a right and a righteous life. They live a good life, but it just17:57 seems like bad things happen to them. Anybody know anybody like that? Anybody feel like you're that person? Right? They they just live life and have so many hopes and so many dreams and life just deals them a bad18:09 hand, but it really wasn't their fault, and and it's just not turning out. And I I've sat with those people, and I've prayed with those people, I had coffee with those people, and and things just go through them, and18:19 they get mad at God. They go, I just don't know why God would let this happen to me. I understand that. Here here's the second 1. I notice a lot of people, they get mad at God when they go their own18:31 way, and God doesn't bless it. Remember we talked about this week 1 with Jonah when he took off and he paid the fare to go in the wrong direction and he said, man, God, I'm going in the wrong direction, but he18:43 prayed for calm seas. I've noticed a lot of people that that they will go in their own way and go in their own direction, and then when God says, well, I'm gonna send a storm or I'm not gonna bless that direction, they18:55 get mad at God. Here's another 1, when we lose someone or something that we love greatly, how many of you have lost someone you love? How19:07 many of you have lost someone someone you love too early, or you go through or all of a sudden you get the diagnosis of cancer and you lose your health or something like that. And I've noticed people I've prayed with19:17 people that they just get mad at God, they get angry with God. I think there's, remember Job's wife? Job lost everything. Remember Job? And she finally looked at him and said, Job, I got an idea. Why don't you just curse19:29 God and die? They they need a marriage retreat bad. Right? It's been interesting to me and it's real clear to me and oftentimes others in their life.19:41 Sometimes people get angry with God when they reap what they sow. They've been sowing to the flesh all their life and all of a sudden they reap to the flesh, and they wanna blame God for allowing that to happen. And if19:53 that's you, my encouragement to you, sow to the spirit, don't sow to the flesh, because as it says, God is not mocked mocked. You will reap what you sow in your marriage, in your kids, in your relationships,20:05 in your occupation, in your job, in your community. When we are hurt somebody by someone who's a Christian, I've I've sat in my office and someone said, man, this person did this to me and20:17 they're a Christian or they're this or it was a minister or a pastor or deacon, and and people get angry. Maybe there's some here that that you've you're mad at God because of what someone else who20:29 pretended to be a Christian did. And I wanna encourage you, let's let's run from that. Here's the last 1, and this is Jonah's problem. Known people that are mad at God, when God20:40 blesses someone, we want him to curse. Anybody ever been in that situation, that perspective where you're sitting here going, Lord, maybe you didn't say it exactly this way. This is just the way I say it.20:52 God, I'm way more righteous than they are. Okay, maybe, yeah, that's exactly the way I say it. Right? You know, they got what they wanted. They wanted fame. They wanted this. They21:04 wanted God, I'm doing with humility of heart. I'm doing it your way. I'm this and that. And and God, they're just scoundrels. Right? I mean just we all have scoundrels in our life21:16 that it seems like everything goes well for them. Right? Am I the only guy that that had I mean, have you seen our staff? You're supposed to laugh right there. No, you21:28 know what, I mean, right? We've all been in those situations where you're like, God, God, you know, why did they seem to get your blessings? And I struggle for your blessings and we can get angry. Let me just21:40 encourage you, don't play God. I love what Isaiah said, the prophet, he says, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than21:51 the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. So step back, the next time you wanna play God and you wanna be like, Jonah and say,22:03 hey, from my perspective, this looks wrong. Step back and say, God, here's what I know. I see from an earthly perspective, you see from an eternal perspective. God, I'm simply22:15 going to trust that you know better than I do and you're gonna work it all out. So thought number 1, running from God. Stop running from your anger. Stop playing God. Just step back when things don't make sense to you or22:27 you're struggling or someone who just seems to be living the wrong way seems to get all the blessing. Just step back and say, God, I don't get it, but I'm a leave that 1 to you. Alright. Here's number 2, don't ever22:38 estimate God's goodness. Don't ever estimate God's goodness. That's exactly what Jonah did. Jonah underestimated God's goodness. Here it is in verse 2. Says he prayed to the22:50 Lord, this is after they've repented. Isn't this exactly what I said was gonna happen when I was still at home? That is why I tried to foresaw all this and flee to Tarshish, dripping with sarcasm. And he quotes23:02 Exodus 34 here. He basically be he says, I know that you are gracious and a compassionate God, that you are slow to anger and abounding in love. You are a God who relents. That word relents,23:14 it has the idea, burning, it has the idea of flared nostrils. How many of you know what I mean? That when someone you ever just seen someone that all of a sudden they they get a little fired up, they haven't said23:25 anything, but you just look at the nostrils and you can just see them. They're they're ready to hit somebody. That's exactly the Hebrew word. Says, man, God, I know you're 1 that instead of flaring your nostrils,23:38 you show your grace. You show your love. And so he says, I know that you are a God that is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love, a God who relents from sending23:50 calamity. And this is an indictment from Jonah. Remember Jonah, just brief outline. Remember what happened? Jonah was disobedient. He went into the fish.24:02 He ended up on dry ground. He thanked God for salvation. He preached to the Ninevites. God gave them salvation. Jonah gets mad. You're like, Jonah, you are completely24:15 you're the poster child for being a recipient of God's grace and compassion and love, but you don't want God to give it to anybody else. So let me give you a couple of thoughts when you think about it. You can read that24:27 Exodus 34 passage. Let me give you a couple of thoughts from right here when you think about don't ever understand underestimate God's goodness. Number 1, don't ever forget that we serve a God that24:39 is completely gracious and compassionate, and we've all experienced it. How many of you know for sure you've experienced God's grace in your life? How many of you24:51 can look back on your life when you've been more like Jonah than you would like to admit and you've experienced God's compassion. We've all been there. And man, as I think about how many25:02 times God has been gracious and compassionate to me, how I should also want God to do the same thing for us. I love what the psalmist said in Psalm 103 verse 8 and following. He says, the Lord is compassionate and25:14 gracious. God is slow to anger and abounding with love. He's a relenting God. He's a loving God. He will not always accuse nor will he harbor his anger forever. He does not,25:26 listen to this, listen to how many times us, our, and we are in here. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us as25:38 our iniquities deserve. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, that's the way his thoughts were, so great is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west,25:50 so far he has removed our transgressions from us. Man, how many of you take great comfort in those words, right? That God doesn't treat me as my sins deserve, as26:02 my transgressions deserve, but instead God is a gracious God and as far as the east is from the west, so far God has removed our transgressions and sin from us. Don't26:14 ever forget that God is a gracious and loving and a compassionate God. Here's number 2. Don't ever forget, not only is God gracious with us, those who love him, but God is26:26 also patient with sinners. That's where God was with the Ninevites. That's what Peter says over in the book of Peter. He said that God is not slow. God wants everybody to26:37 come to repentance. And so that's what Jonah didn't understand, that God, why are you so patient with sinners? Why? Because God prefers repentance over judgment. Remember what it26:49 said? Verse 17, John 3, God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through him. That's God's desire. So if you ever look around and say, God, why do you put up with27:00 that? Well, I can tell you why, because he is a patient God. He is a loving God. And then step back and do what I wanna do and what we should always do is remember the27:12 times that God was patient with us. Look what Isaiah said in Isaiah 40 43 verse 25. He says, I, even I, this is God speaking. I'm the 1 who27:24 blots out your transgressions. Now I want you to read this little phrase, this next phrase. God blots out your transgressions, not for your sake, but notice27:36 what he says, for my own sake, and remembers your sin no more. See, God wants to forgive you and show you his grace and love.27:47 Why? For his sake. He created you in the image of God. God doesn't want anybody to spend eternity in hell. He wants all of us to come to repentance. God doesn't want us27:59 to reap what we sow if we sow to the flesh. Why? Because at the end of that road, at the end of that folly, at the end of that are the consequences and the results of the sin we committed. So what does God do? He wants28:11 to be patient, so instead of us continuing down that path, we would turn away. So here's the third thing we always have to remember about God, not only is he compassionate and gracious and loving, he's patient with28:21 sinners, but don't ever doubt this, God is a just God. There will come a day when grace is no more. There will come a day when it is28:32 judgment day. Until he comes, the writer of the book Hebrews said it is appointed for a man or a woman, a person, once to die and then judgment. See, you28:44 better make a good decision here about what you're gonna do with Jesus because there is gonna come a day when we're gonna look in God's eyes and he's going to say, what did you do with my son? If you said I rejected him,28:55 it would not be loving for God to say, all right, I'm gonna make you spend eternity with him. Instead, God is gonna say, listen, you rejected my son on earth. Man, go live where you29:07 wanted to in eternity apart from me, but God doesn't want that. But don't ever doubt in the midst of the fact that we serve a gracious, compassionate, and loving God who is patient with sinners. Don't29:18 ever forget the fact God's just. So wherever you are in this room or online, you better make a decision29:32 for or against Jesus Christ and understand that determines where you spend eternity with God or apart from God. Why? Because God is29:44 gracious, compassionate, loving, patient, but he's also a just God. He's also a just God. Here's the next thought as we just continue to read down, look at verse look at number 3,29:56 going to verse 3. It says, don't let your darkest darkest thoughts ever control you. I don't know where you are in your mind space or mental space. Don't ever, ever30:08 let your darkest thoughts control you. So where do you see that? Look at verse 3. Now Jonah says, Lord, take my life away, for it is better for me to die than to30:19 live. That's a dark thought. That's a bad thought. Can I tell you this? That is a wrong thought. And and maybe there's someone here that that you've not been called to be a prophet, you've not been30:31 called to preach in Nineveh, but you have those dark thoughts, then maybe it'd be better for me to die than to live. Can I just tell you this?30:45 That's a bad thought. That's a wrong thought. Because here's what I know, when I look at God's word, and I look at God's character, when I look at God's nature, when I look at God's call, when I look at God's purpose30:57 for every person in this room or online, let me tell you what, it is not better that you would be dead than whether you'd be alive. Because God wants to take the life that you have, the breath that you have, the ability31:07 that you have, the talents that you have, the skills you have, and he wants to bless you through you and bless others through you. So don't ever ever ever let your darkest thoughts31:19 control you. Man, something was going on in Jonah that in chapter 1, he said, I'd rather go the wrong way instead of the right way. There's something going wrong with Jonah where he said, I'd rather go, in the31:31 deep than just repent and go back and do what God called me to do. And here we are again in chapter 4, he's allowing these dark thoughts, his darkest thoughts to control him. So my encouragement to you,31:43 if there's someone here that you are walking in this space that, man, would it be better for me to die than to live? Can I just tell you? These are God's words to31:54 John. No. No. It's better that you live and be used by God to your fullest potential and let God determine when your32:06 last breath is. How many of us understand that? Here's the last thought. You ready? Number 4, we pick it up in verse 4. Don't let your emotions run you. Last point, don't let your32:18 darkest thoughts control you. Don't let your emotions run you. His emotion was anger. Notice what it says, but the word of the Lord came and said, is it right for you to be angry?32:31 Is it right? So let me just kinda stop this sermon where we started. We live in an age of anger where people are bitter and mad,32:43 And so here's how we end. Are you 1 of those people? Are you someone that if you think about where you're living truly in your space, that you're living in such a way that you're angry with32:55 God? Can I invite you just to pause, step back from that, confess that, and ask God to help you deal with that? Maybe there's someone here33:07 that that, man, you've experienced a loss and you're angry with God. Maybe you've lived a good life and hard things have come and you're angry with God. Can I just tell you that as33:19 long as you let your emotions control you, You will never be able to fulfill God's ultimate call in your life? That's why we wanna run from33:30 anger. Because in spite of this, and we're gonna see it next week and the next week, in spite of all of God's blessings, Jonah missed it all,33:43 and I don't want that to be your story. Let's pray. God, thank you so much for an opportunity to look at a prophet that you just described so clearly, who runs from33:55 you, never truly repents, he obeys, but he doesn't have a harder attitude of love. Instead, he he lets his darkest thoughts control him. He lets his34:07 emotions get the best of him. Him. The saddest thing of all is he missed your blessings. God, don't ever let that be us.34:18 Don't ever let that be the people in the room or the people online. Let us be a people that run from our darkest thoughts, that run from our emotions, run from our anger, and34:30 run to your grace. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.In this video 0:00 Running from Anger: Lessons from Jonah
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