Dealing With Monkeys Of Strong Hateful Emotions

Series: I Need Help Getting The Monkey Off My Back

Part 3 - Dealing With Monkeys Of Strong Hateful Emotions

INTRO: Have you ever had a problem dealing with something in life that seemed to have control over you? Well I am going to deal with some things that are kind of like a "monkey on your back" kind of thing.

So, today when we hear the term, they have a monkey on their back, they are having a terrible time dealing with an issue, habit, or even a sin in their lives. I want to start a series dealing with some of these things people face in life.

Today I want to continue looking at the Monkey of Strong Emotions. Two weeks ago, I dealt with envy and jealousy. Envy and jealousy are real relationship killers. Well I have for today are no less relationship killers, in fact one of them is literally a killer. Murder. I also want to deal with related emotions that Satan uses against all of us at one time or another. These are the areas I want to look at today.

Boy did I miss all of you last week. I am glad to get to worship with you again today. It seems like ages since I was here in the pulpit. My thanks go out to Bro. Mike and Bro. Jason for filling the pulpit with God's Word and direction last week.

As for the retreat, what an outpouring & example of God's love that was shown to me during this time. May I do so to you and others that I meet!

This series will challenge you somewhere to deal with issues you may have in life. You may even think I am picking on you. That is not my style, as I learned a long time ago to not "go after" people's needs or sins directly, but lean on and trust the Holy Spirit and use God's Word with its power. Boy it can be sharp. It cuts both ways, just like a two-edged sword.

Let's read from our theme scripture for this series:

Hebrews 12:1-3 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ²Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Okay, today I am going to deal with some really harmful feelings that Satan encourages in all our lives to a degree. Not each and every one of them and maybe not all at the same instance, but definitely the monkey sits on our shoulder and whispers in our "ears."

The 1^st I'll mention is MURDER - anybody seriously, really, actually consider or contemplate murder this week or month?

[pause-look around] I didn't think so, well I want you to answer this next question by hands and honestly. Would you admit or raise your hand if you had? Why? Because killing and murdering are real bad - RIGHT? Major bad in fact. IT is one of the BIG TEN, right? Yeah, one of The 10 Commandments, "Thou shalt not kill!" That is talking about murder - Definitely a sin. Pretty easy to classify, right?

Okay, I know we are all so self-righteous that we would not really murder anyone. Okay, I get it. But we might, just might, murder or kill someone's:

Spirit

Excitement

Happiness

Good name

Reputation, Etc.

Okay, honestly Satan doesn't really whisper into our ears (very often) and say kill, kill, kill!? Does he? So how does it happen? What brings people to that stage? He works on our emotions. Specifically it comes from hatred or malice or bitterness or revenge or just plain old ordinary ANGER!

Hey, "I don't have a problem with hatred, I love everybody!" Don't you? Well….see hatred is just like murder (almost) - did anyone here work out in your mind this week that you were going to hate someone? Or how you would hate them? Okay that is not easy for us to admit or do.

HATRED is pretty strong and according to God's Word, it is pretty wrong.

Did you know…

Hatred comes from the heart.

Leviticus 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

It stirs things up.

Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

It is a mess to be avoided like those veggies we hate.

Proverbs 15:17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

It reeks of darkness and the king of darkness.

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

1 John 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Satan knows that hatred kind of scares us away - at first. When we look at Joseph's brothers, we see how hatred can sneak up on us.

But, I don't hate anyone! Mostly dislike! A few maybe strongly dislike - you know the type right? They deserve disliking - they surely do!

So, how does hatred come about? One way is from a desire for revenge. We looked at Haman's misguided desire for revenge that blossomed into a full-blown hatred. Haman attempted to kill Mordecai and even lost his own life in the mix.

Hatred can be blinding in our lives.

Lev. 19:18 warns us against this.

Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Revenge may seem sweet, but it is not the way of Christ.

Matthew 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

So, we see revenge can lead to worse sins, we might say. "I'm not listening to any monkeys of revenge, but what about MALICE?

Malice: Active ill will

Ephesians 4:31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

You know that is more than just thinking it! That is doing it! That is where Satan's monkeys come in. IF we let them sit on our shoulder, they will whisper. If they whisper we will hear, and if we hear it goes in and evil comes out.

Does his monkeys encourage you to give them what they have coming? What comes around goes around. They're no better than you. Go ahead, show them what it is like! Do they tell you that they deserve what they get? Do they prod you to kick them while they are down. Oh yeah that is his monkey crew for sure talking. That is malice when we begin to actively dish out and convert our ill will to actions.

Yeah malice is when it starts acting outside of our head and heart. It is bad.

Okay, if you have noticed, we have been working backwards. Let's back up to BITTERNESS.

Have you ever been wronged, let down, hurt, upset, etc. That is where bitterness comes in. Satan's monkeys builds things up in our minds and use them to encourage bitterness in our lives. Bitterness is hard to let go.

It CHANGES US.

Jeremiah 4:18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.

It BROADENS OUR SINFULNESS.

Acts 8:23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

It ACCOMPANIES EVIL ACTIONS.

Romans 3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

It BUILDS UP IN OUR LIVES- until it explodes and harms.

Ephesians 4:31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

It POISONS US.

James 3:11 - 14 ¹¹Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

^{12Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
^{13Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
^{14But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
That is why we do not need to give place to the Devil, it affects our heart, thoughts mind, and actions!
Okay, I am not going to listen to that monkey either. I am going to "get over it." No listening to the monkeys about murder, about hatred, malice and no more revenge notions okay?
So, I am good! - Right?
Well, just one more. And it is a big one. You see this is where it often starts - ANGER!
I now some of you might say, anger is not wrong. You may even quote:
Ephesians 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
This means there ARE some times we can be angry.

But it means ANGER should not control us.
It means we should not hold a grudge.
It means we should not let it eat on us.
It means we should not let it grow and fester into:

BITTERNESS
MALICE
HATRED
MURDER

So anger is not meant to be a free-for-all of emotions and actions!

The next verse tells us to…
Ephesians 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.
And in fact the last verse of the chapter tells us the proper alternative to anger.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
ANGER is not necessarily a sin

If we do not lose self-control

Proverbs 14:17 He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.
Proverbs 16:32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

Can be habit forming - hard to let go

Ecclesiastes 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
ANGER escalates to worse actions
Daniel 3:19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
ANGER spreads like a disease
ANGER kills

So what truly is the answer for all this?
DON'T LET THE MONKEYS OF SATAN SIT ON YOUR SHOULDER AND WHISPER IN YOUR EARS!
Accept Christ as your savior
Apply Ephesians 4:31-32 to your life and live it daily
Ephesians 4:31 - 32 ³¹Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
^{32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Gary Marcum - New Beginnings Church - 102807am}}}}