The Standard 2009 (Part 4): Shrink Your Anger Footprint

Pastor Rocklyn Clarke - Sunday February 22, 2009

© 2009 Life Church Ministries, Inc.

http://www.LifeChurchMinistries.org/

* Notes
V Introduction
* Bible Reading 2/15 - 2/21: Ex 39 - Lev 12; Mark 1 - 5; Psalm 35 - 38; Prov 9:11 - 10:9
> Review
V New Material
> Preparation
> Preparation - Mat 5:21-26
V Shrink Your Anger Footprint
V The Problem: Viewing God's Word merely as a system of rules
* The Pharisees wanted others to adopt their system of rules.
* The Church wants outsiders to adopt our system of rules.
* It's not working!
* Surprise - God's approach is different!
* It's not about the church or the rules - It's about the Father!
* DNA enables organisms to adapt over time to changing environmental conditions. The Church is able to adapt over time to changing conditions.
V Jesus' Hermaneutic (i.e. approach to interpreting scripture)
V Review the Pharisees' Hermaneutic
* Torah - The written law (first five books of the Old Testament)
* Oral Law - Supposedly received by Moses and Israel at Mount Sinai.
* Mishnah - Written compilation of Oral Law (circa 200 AD)
V A fence around the law; a fence around the fence - an elaborate system of rules and definitions designed to keep people as far from sin as possible.
* Created sharp distinctions between followers and non-followers
* Facilitated religious control by the Pharisees
V Alternative systems
* Galileans - Not sticklers for oral law
* Saducees - Rejected idea of oral law
V Jesus' Hermaneutic
V God is calling us to relationship
* The God who's running things wants to be your Daddy!
V The beatitudes are proclaimed by a God who offers relationship.
* the poor in spirit -
* those who mourn - Isa 61:1-3
* the meek - Psalm 37:11; Zeph 3:8-12
* those who hunger and thirst for righteousness - Psalm 103
* the merciful - Zech 7:8-10
* the pure in heart - Psalm 37:18
* the peacemakers - 1Chron 22:7-10
* those persecuted for righteousness
* You're on a mission for your Father - Mat 5:16
V Jesus is fulfilling the scriptures - Mat 5:17-20
* Restoring a right understanding of scripture so we can obey it.
* Bringing good news, freedom, recovery, etc. - Luke 4:18-21
V Contrasting approaches to scripture
V Civil law
* Statutes
V Common law
* Statutes
V Case law
* Plessy v. Ferguson - May 18, 1896
* Brown v. Board of Education - May 17, 1954
* By faith rather than by works - Rom 9:30 - 10:4
V Fulfilling Scripture
* God is a loving Father who wants a relationship with us.
V One way we can relate to God is through his Word.
V The Bible is full of passages ("cases" or stories) that:
* reflect who God is.
* help us to know him better
* help us to do what pleases him
V Ask the passage questions
* Key Questions: Who?, What?, Where?, When?, and Why?
* What does our Father want; how can we cooperate with him?
* Am I just following the rules or am I relating to the author (God)?
* People who are poor in Spirit or hungry and thirsty for righteousness will receive Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount with eagerness and put it into practice. Others will treat Jesus' teaching as mere suggestions.
V Apply Hermaneutic to Exodus 20:13 - "You shall not murder"
V Pharisees' hermaneutic
* The Pharisees and teachers of the law focused on rules (i.e. don't murder) and precise definitions (don't say "raca").
V Jesus' Hermaneutic
* What is God really after here? Is it just to prohibit murder?
* How does a loving Father want his children to treat each other?
* What's behind murder? Are there "pre-murder" thoughts or behaviors I should avoid?
V Ask the questions:
* Who is speaking? To whom is he speaking?
* What is the speaker talking about?
* Where is this taking place?
V When is this happening? When in relation to:
* Adam and Eve
* Abraham
* Moses
* Timeline of Jesus' ministry
* Why? What is the speaker trying to accomplish? What is God trying to accomplish through the speaker?
* We must renounce anger with and harsh words towards one another.
V What Difference Does This Make?
V Anger in Christians
* For some people anger is like a pet demon on their shoulder. They use it to accomplish things for them.
V Anger is corrosive of our relationships within the Body.
* The Father cares about the relationships among his children.
* The Father loves his children and wants them to get along.
V Global Warming: Carbon Footprint
The total amount of greenhouse gases produced by an individual, organization, event, or product.
* The greenhouse gases I personally generate.
* The greenhouse gases I directly cause others to generate.
* The greenhouse gases I fail to eliminate
V Anger Footprint
* My own anger
* The anger I cause others to feel
* The anger I fail to eliminate
V Importance of reconciliation as a lifestyle
* Anger makes me at risk for hell. Disciplined reconciliation will help.
* Note - we must reconcile not just when we feel anger, but even when we know that someone else feels anger towards us.
* Squash the beef ASAP. Don't wait for it to go to court. Remember "keeping it real" can go very wrong!
* Small groups are like smoke or CO2 detectors. They help you recognize when someone has something against you so that you can deal with it (the way this passage tells us to).
V You can't relate to the Father in a vacuum
* When "offering your gift at the altar" you are relating to the Father.
* Be reconciled to your brother (sister) because your relationship with him (her) affects your relationship with the one you both call Father.
* If we love the Father we will walk in reconciliation - 1John 4:19 - 5:2
V Discussion Questions / Topics (based on the indicated scriptures)
V Scripture Reference - Mat 5:17-26
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Matthew 5:17-26
* Have you been angry with, or said anything unkind to any of your brothers or sisters in Christ recently? If so, what are you doing about it?
* Are you aware of anyone who has something against you? Discuss.
* Have you said anything unkind to anyone recently? If so, why?
* Do you need to be reconciled to anyone right now? Discuss.
V Witnessing Activities
* Consider the Life Church Mission:
Our mission is to develop mature followers of Jesus Christ who love God with everything they've got, genuinely love their neighbors, and take the lead in expanding God's Kingdom in the world around them.
V Please discuss as a group some of the ways we can help equip you to carry out this mission and make a list that your life group leaders can bring back to the pastoral team.
* What aspects of reaching out to the unchurched are you most excited about? What aspects are most challenging to you?
* How confident are you about helping someone else to follow Jesus?
* How confident are you about following up or discipling a new Christian?
* How comfortable are you about inviting people you know casually to visit Life Church? How comfortable are you about inviting people you know well? Discuss.
* What Bible passages or issues would you like to understand better?