Scripture: Ephesians 4 v 26: "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath."
Titus 1 v 7: "For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre."
For the record a bishop is a pastor, elder or shepherd, not some fancy religious office created by ambitious men. In the Bible there are no archbishops, popes, pontiffs, cardinals, vicars, or monseignors. The ministries in the Bible are Apostle, Prophet, Teacher, Pastor, Evangelist, Intercessor. All are servants of God who follow the Lamb.
1 Peter 2 v 9: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"
However, anger is a common problem and could be the slow burn that builds like a tsunami and can be just as devastating or, at the other end of the scale, a quick outburst gone and forgotten in a minute. Just as devastating to the recipient as it is 'closed never to be reopened and dealt with.'
In between there is a whole range of anger-related scenarios like road rage; violent abuse; murderous anger; simmering anger that flares like a grumbling volcano; to suppressed rage, or jealous rage, that eventually erupts like a firework display or a bomb blast.
Paul speaks of being angry without sinning. This is a holy, righteous anger like Jesus had against the scribes and Pharisees. He saw their evil hearts under their religious costumes. When pushed He told them to their face that they were evil. It caused Jesus to overthrow the tables of the moneylenders at the Temple because they were making His Father's House a place of merchandise. He still gets angry at that today.
Paul also says we must sort out what is making us angry, on the same day if possible. Don't let the sun go down on your wrath. Do not leave issues unresolved by bedtime. Keep short accounts of wrongs so that when you do deal with the immediate problem, three months of unresolved grievances don't get added to the pile.
Deal with one problem at a time in a calm and civilised manner. Treat each other with respect and love. You are Christians and should pray together to bring peace and understanding into your differences.
Children have tantrums in crowded places causing embarrassment to parents and attempts to discipline are inclined to add fuel to the raging inferno in the child's soul. There is a demon spirit tormenting these children. It's name is Tantra and is linked to occult rage. It could be inherited in the womb or afflicted from birth by eastern type objects in your home.
In my ministry I have come across some strange things. There was one man who gained a strange and frustrating affliction as a small child. His toes and feet were constantly moving. He could never control them even in his forties. He hid this from people as it bothered him. We traced this affliction to a whirling dervish of eastern origin that was linked to an ornate, antique Indian table in his family home. It was a gift shortly after he was born.
When we prayed and rebuked this spirit in Jesus' name and commanded it to leave, he was instantly set free and the peace on his feet and toes was astonishing. At the same time his nasal passages were opened and he could breathe through his nose for the first time in his life. Miracles of God through discerning of spirits and deliverance from demons that the authority of Jesus gives us.
One of the root causes of anger is when your expectations are not met. One of the best things Jesus has taught me is to have no expectations at all. Don't expect gratitude, thanks, respect, reward, love or anything else. Then you will not be disappointed when you don't get any. However if you do receive any kind of blessing it is sheer joy. Live life in the neutral zone where you don't expect to be obeyed, or people to just know what you need and give it. Then there is no blame or guilt.
If you are paying for something that is not meeting the promises of the salesperson, you have a right to complain and expect good service. You can be angry at unfairness and injustice and protest against it. But not with violence and vandalism.
It seems to me that road rage occurs when the driver has bottled up anger against someone he cannot confront like his boss; his in-laws; the government; or whoever has produced a lot of frustration in him. My father had a road rage problem after the 2nd world war. He hated Germans. He took it out on every VW Beetle (and there were many) that travelled on any road we were on. It had to be overtaken. He would be in a fury until that VW was behind him. Then he would be calm.
Road rage can be deadly and dangerous when you want to take out your frustrations on a complete stranger who may have cut you off or caused you to brake or swerve. It escalates out of control and then tragedy strikes. You come to your senses and you have blood on your hands.
The root of bitterness fuels road rage, and if you mix in some alcohol there is zero self control. So become a forgiver of everyone that has hurt you. Uproot that bitterness and all its ugly fruit. Don't drive in anger and frustration as it could kill somebody.
That root of bitterness also has some other ugly demons attached to it. One is Memory Recall of Hurts.......it's when your wife recites every wrong you have ever done since the day you met! Another one is Murder, which may happen before she reaches the end of her list!
People who are involved in occult, witchcraft or satanistic covens have a deep anger towards our God. They hate Him without a reason. They hate Christians and persecute them. Their anger erupts in a cold rage with hard cutting words and a malevolent look in their eyes.
I have been on the frontline with some of these and in their rage they don't hear anything so I quote scripture at them. A long while later I hear that scripture come out of their mouth! It goes in and bothers them. While they are screaming take Godly authority over that demon of rage and command it to be silent. Be suitably surprised when the screamer suddenly calms down.
Anger against a mother, or any woman carer that abused him, can turn a man into a woman hating abuser. If this is you then you need help from a pastor. You need to forgive your mother and ask Jesus to remove any bad memories that kick in and cause you to hurt your wife or other women. Maybe your father abused your mother and you thought that was the way women should be treated. It is always wrong to harm another person. Jesus said Turn the other cheek rather than strike back.
A woman hating spirit, or a man hating spirit in a woman, is accompanied by a spirit of lust. Lust is a demon that demands instant gratification. It can escalate to rape. Lust always degrades the opposite sex, it is the very opposite of love. Lust is fuelled by pornography and can quickly turn to rage when denied.
James said in 4 v 7: Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. Treat your anger, bitterness, frustrations, violence, alcoholism, drug abuse or other anger producing problems to this perfect formula. First submit yourself into God's hands, then say NO to the devil driving you, and then he will stop harassing you. Try it. It works.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You get angry too - at sin and those who refuse Your help in combating it. Help us Lord to see ourselves as You, and others, see us when we go over the edge of reason. Help us to quickly overcome so we never lose our self control. I pray for all who read that the demon of rage and anger would be bound and you would be loosed to act and react in love, peace and patience to every unruly situation. In Jesus' name. Amen.