Grosey's Messages

“You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder,and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. 22 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brotherwill be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’will be subject to the • Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to • hellfire. 23 So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge tothe officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 I assure you: You will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!


By 1924 Howard Carter had worked in Egypt for 31 years before he found King Tut's tomb. When the fourth shrine was disassembled, the king's sarcophagus was revealed. The sarcophagus was yellow in color and made out of a single block of quartzite. The lid did not match the rest of the sarcophagus and had been cracked in the middle during antiquity (an attempt had been made to cover the crack by filling it with gypsum). But what lay underneath? The tackle for raising the lid was in position. I gave the word. Amid intense silence the huge slab, broken in two, weighing over a ton and a quarter, rose from its bed. The light shone into the sarcophagus. A sight met our eyes that at first puzzled us. It was a little disappointing. The contents were completely covered by fine linen shrouds. The lid being suspended in mid-air, we rolled back those covering shrouds, one by one, and as the last was removed a gasp of wonderment escaped our lips, so gorgeous was the sight that met our eyes: a golden effigy of the young boy king, of most magnificent workmanship, filled the whole of the interior of the sarcophagus. A gilded wooden coffin was revealed. The coffin was in a distinctly human shape and was 7 feet 4 inches in length. A year and a half later, they were ready to lift the lid of the coffin. Conservation work of other objects already removed from the tomb had taken precedence. Thus, the anticipation of what lay beneath was extreme. When they lifted the lid of the coffin, they found another, smaller coffin. The lifting of the lid of the second coffin revealed a third one, made entirely of gold. On top of this third, and final, coffin was a dark material that had once been liquid and poured over the coffin from the hands to the ankles. The liquid had hardened over the years and firmly stuck the third coffin to the bottom of the second. The thick residue had to be removed with heat and hammering. Then the lid of the third coffin was raised. Tutankhamun had been about 5 feet 5 1/8 inches tall and had died around the age of 18. Certain evidence also attributed Tutankhamun's death to murder.
Its not what’s outside that counts, but what’s inside.
Pharisees had been happy with an outward adornment of supposed righteousness. They went to synagogue regularly. They did their duties. They sang their psalms. They looked outwardly to be righteous. But inside.. the Lord Jesus said Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
6 illustrations that rip away the façade of self righteousness to expose the human heart.
Matt 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.
6 carefully chosen examples that show the depth of the human heart.
Today we will consider the first of "Six Antitheses" to pharisaical understandings of certain deuteronomical laws presented by Jesus during what is called the Sermon on the Mount. The subject is the Sixth Commandment.
1. The Malice Of Murder
not against capital punishment God Himself ordained and established capital punishment as part of His "new world order" after the Flood. This is recorded in Genesis 9:1-6
This Commandment Is Not against war
This Commandment Is Not against self defence
This Commandment Is Not against killing animals
This Commandment Is Not against, it is for. This commandment tells us the value of human life.
No Homicide
Sometimes we may be tempted to think, "He had it coming" or "She deserved what I said." Hang on. If we really want to live a Christ-like life, we should never strike out in anger. Clarence Darrow, a famous criminal lawyer, once said, "Everyone is a potential murderer. I have not killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction out of obituary notices." 1 John 3:15 says, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
No Infanticide
No Suicide

2. The Acid Of Anger
Beyond the act to the attitude. Beyond murder to the motive.
psychiatrist, named Redford Williams, who's a professor at Duke University Medical Center, said it like this: "Anger kills. I'm not speaking about the anger that drives people to shoot, stab or otherwise reek havoc on their fellow humans. I mean, instead, the everyday sort of anger, annoyance and irritation that courses through the minds and bodies of many perfectly normal people."
Child’s school project “What causes people to go to war?”
Dispute between parents over it. “Don’t worry I know now.”
James 4:1 What is the source of the wars and the fights among you? Don’t they come from the cravings that are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on your desires for pleasure.
A psychiatrist in Michigan said, "People will be murdered today because of someone's anger. Others will die from physical ailments resulting from or aggravated by anger. Many people die in anger-related auto accidents, while others carry out the angriest act of all: suicide. Countless relationships die little by little as resentment gnaws away at the foundations of love and trust. Anger is a devastating force and its consequences should sicken us." You see, the Scriptures tell us that anger opens the door to a greater evil in our lives. Someone said it like this: "An angry person does foolish things" - (Prov. 14:17). He goes on to say, Proverbs 25:28 says it like this: "He that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." "A hot-tempered man commits many sins" - (Prov. 29:22).
A. Caustic Anger
22 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brotherwill be subject to judgment.
I want to measure your IQ (Irritability Quotient).
1. You unpack and appliance you just bought, plug it in and discover that it doesn't work.
2. Being over-charged by a repairman that has you over a barrel.
3. Why you are struggling to carry four cups of coffee to the table at a cafe, someone bumps into you spilling the coffee.
4. You car is stole at a traffic light, and the guy behind you keeps blowing his horn.
5. You accidentally make a wrong turn into a parking lot and somebody yells out at you, where did you learn how to drive?
B. Contemptuous anger
And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’will be subject to the • Sanhedrin.

C. Condemning Anger
But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire.
fool "To call a man moros was not to criticize his mental ability; it was to cast aspersions on his moral character; it was to take his name and reputation from him, and to brand him as a loose-living and immoral person." - William Barclay: Matthew
Prov 12:18 There is one who speaks rashly, like a piercing sword; but the tongue of the wise [brings] healing.
Ephesians 4:29 No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit, who sealed you for the day of redemption. 31 All bitterness, anger and wrath, insult and slander must be removed from you, along with all wickedness. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
You cannot be right with God without being right with others.
When Leonardo da Vinci was painting the Last Supper, he had an intense, bitter argument with a fellow painter. Leonardo was so enraged that he decided to paint the face of his enemy into the face of Judas. That way the hated painter's face would be preserved in the face of the betraying disciple. When Leonardo finished Judas, everyone easily recognized the face of the painter with whom Leonardo quarreled. He continued to work on the painting. But as much as he tried, he could not paint the face of Christ. Something was holding him back. Finally he decided his hatred toward his fellow painter was the problem. He worked through his hatred by repainting Judas' face, replacing the image of his fellow painter with another face. Only then was he able to paint Jesus' face and complete the masterpiece.

ANGER IS A FEELING; FEELINGS ARE NORMAL
A little girl was seen scowling at a bulldog. Her mother walked into the room and scolded her for being so rude. "Well, he started it!" the girl explained. That's funny. Most of the time, though, anger is no laughing matter. Anger is a lot like fire. It doesn't take much to get it going; it grows by leaps and bounds when we feed it; and the searing flames can ruin everything around.
Anger is very common. I don't need to explain what I mean when I'm talking about feeling angry: you've been there, you know what I'm talking about. Somebody does something wrong. You know the surge of adrenaline in your body as you get ready to fight back; the blood rushing to your face, turning it red; the heart pumping faster and the blood pressure going up. We all know what this feels like.
Now just stop and think about what I just said: * the surge of adrenaline * the face turning red * the heart pumping faster.
All of these are automatic reactions. We have no control over them. Feeling angry is a normal, automatic reaction in the human body, just like any other feeling: feeling sad when someone dies, feeling happy when the sun shines, feeling afraid when danger approaches. With each of these feelings come corresponding physical changes in our bodies. Again, all of this is automatic, and we have no control over it.
WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WE DO WITH ANGER
What we DO have control over - and are responsible for - is how we respond to these feelings, what we do with them. When Jesus is commanding us here to not be angry, I think he is talking about the latter, how we respond:
"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." [Matthew 5:21-22, NIV].
After all, what causes murder? Anger. Deal with our anger, and we won't commit murder. But that's just the beginning. Deal with our anger, and we'll feel better inside, and we'll get along better with others. Some people let their anger control them, instead of the other way around. A woman once apologized for her frequent flare-ups by telling the preacher Billy Sunday, "Yes, I have a bad temper, but it's always over in a minute." "So is a shotgun blast!" replied Sunday. "But look at the damage it can do in just a split second!"
Some people dwell on their anger, feeding it, encouraging the fire to grow bigger and hotter, until it explodes. In that case, anger is like a bomb ticking away, ready to explode. What we need is to learn how to drown the fire, and defuse the bomb. That's why I've called this sermon "Defusing Your Anger."
HOW TO DEFUSE ANGER
1) RECOGNIZE THE FEELING Jesus spoke plainly about anger. It's real. It happens. So when it happens to us, don't pretend that it's not there. If you're at home and you smell smoke, you look for a fire. You don't say, "Oh, it's nothing to worry about. I can handle that." When you're angry, deal with it - before the fire gets out of control. Some people hold their anger in. They smolder and seethe inside, but deny it on the outside. Someone else comes along and asks, "Are you upset about something?" "Of course not!" they snap back. This is a dirty way to fight. It's actually much easier to get along with someone who gives you a blast of honest anger, than with someone who is like walking acid.
2) DON'T LET ANGER HAVE POWER OVER US
As I said earlier, we are responsible for how we behave. For instance, you can still love someone you are angry at. Charlie Shedd, a minister and writer, found this note on the kitchen counter after a fight with his wife: Dear Charlie, I hate you. Love, Martha.
Later on in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a specific command about controlling our anger: If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. [Matthew 5:39, TEV].
John Selwyn was a prize winning boxer, who became a missionary, spending his life building up the Church in the South Pacific. In one of the congregations was a man who was leading an immoral life, and Selwyn gave him a firm but loving rebuke. The man was outraged, and punched Selwyn violently in the face. The missionary merely folded his arms and humbly looked into the man's blazing eyes. With his boxing skill and powerful rippling muscles, he could easily have knocked out his attacker. Instead, he turned the other cheek and waited calmly to be hit a second time. This was too much for the man to handle, who became greatly ashamed and fled into the jungle. Years afterward, the man accepted the Lord as his Savior and gave his testimony before the church. It was customary at that time for a new believer to choose a Christian name for himself. When asked if he wished to follow this practice, he replied without hesitation, "Yes, call me John Selwyn! He's the one who taught me what Jesus Christ is really like!"
3) DEAL WITH ANGER IMMEDIATELY, RATHER THAN DWELLING ON IT
If you are angry, do not sin by nursing your grudge. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry - get over it quickly; for when you are angry you give a mighty foothold to the devil. [EPHESIANS. 4:26, Living Bible]. Again: it is not a sin to be angry. The sin comes in how we respond to the anger. If we feed the anger by dwelling on it, getting madder and madder, then we have sinned.
An ancient legend tells how Hercules became greatly irritated by a strange-looking animal that blocked his path in a threatening manner. In a fit of anger he struck it with his club. As he went on his way, he encountered it again several times, and in each instance the beast grew larger and more fearsome than before. At last a messenger appeared and warned Hercules to stop his furious assaults, saying, "The monster is Strife and you are stirring it up. Just let it alone and it will dwindle, and cease to trouble you." This fable underscores the truth that unless sinful anger is curbed, it will lead to menacing situations that become unmanageable.
4) DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. [James 1:19-20, NRSV]. Go slow. Find out the facts, not just the gossip. Don't jump to conclusions. Put yourself in the other person's shoes. This is so obvious, it hardly needs to be said. But when people are listening to their anger, they are not thinking clearly. It's all part of the process of how we handle our anger.
The New Testament book of James provides us with some very simple and helpful ways to regulate our anger. In the first chapter of James, he writes, "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger...." (James 1:19) Of course, one has to, first of all, acknowledge one's anger, which is a big chore for some. Some of us are blithely unaware of our own anger. Some of us are frightened of our own anger. The Apostle Paul says an interesting thing in our Ephesians passage; he writes, "Be angry but do not sin...." (4:26), suggesting that anger may be expected, but that it becomes sin only after we pay it sufficient mind to develop it into the beautiful work of indignation we'd like it to be!
"Be...slow to anger," says James (1:19) In other words, hold back your anger. This is the one time that it's appropriate to procrastinate. It used to be that we were all under the spell of the notion that repressing your anger was the unhealthiest thing we could do. I'm not sure that's any longer the conventional wisdom. ("It's better to bottle up your anger," Ottawa Citizen, May 9, 1999) Plutarch, the Roman playwright, had one of his characters say to the emperor, "Remember, Caesar, whenever you are angry, say or do nothing until you have repeated the four-and-twenty letters (of the alphabet) to yourself." The time-honoured expedient of taking a few deep breaths and counting to ten may still be good counsel. We need to give ourselves time to think, for as C.S. Lewis said, "Anger is the anaesthetic of the mind."
James also says, "Be quick to listen (and) slow to speak...." (1:19) Good advice! Our tongues are usually the first thing out of the gate when we are angry. If we could slow down our tongues and speed up our ears, it would go a long way toward regulating anger.
5) SEEK RECONCILIATION - GO IMMEDIATELY TO THE PERSON WITH WHOM WE HAVE THE DISPUTE
Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother or sister; then come and offer your gift. [Matthew 5:23-24, NRSV]
Go and speak directly to the person you're angry at. This is so important! Jesus gives the example of a person walking out of a worship service because they need to first go and make up with someone. The only way to get past the gossip, the misunderstanding, and the questions, is to go and see that person.
There is perhaps one time when we should wait before going to see someone: when the anger has just started, and we're boiling mad. Take some time first to cool off.
There's a story of a young man who had been cruelly insulted by a coworker. Full of anger, he determined to go at once and demand an apology. A wise gentleman laid his hand on his shoulder and said quietly, "Son, let me give you a word of advice. An insult is like mud: it will brush off much better when it is dry! Wait until you both have cooled off, and then the thing can probably be settled quickly. If you go now, you'll quarrel even more."
Sometimes we think, "Why should I go to see her? She started this; she should come to me!" Friends, forget it. It's not worth it. Don't let our pride destroy the little that's left of a relationship.
6) SPEAK SOFTLY
"A soft answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger." [Proverbs 15:1] Yes, go and see the person we're angry with. Yes, tell him or her we're angry. But don't make it even worse.
One of the most effective ways to do this is to use what counsellors call an "I statement." A "I statement" focuses on how I feel, rather than what YOU did.
7) SEEK FORGIVENESS - FOR OURSELVES AS WELL AS THE PERSON WE'RE ANGRY WITH
But when you are praying, first forgive anything you may have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins. [Mark 11:25, TEV].
It's clear that Jesus teaches us to forgive others, even our enemies. It's also common sense: it would be impossible to have any kind of polite relationship - let alone friendship - with someone we feel bitter towards. But why seek forgiveness for ourselves? Simply this: anger is a sword with a blade at both ends. We may hurt the other person with one end, but we injure ourselves just as much, if not more.
We may find that we have trouble praying, until our anger is dealt with. Jesus tells us that when we pray, the first thing we do is to forgive others. Indeed, if we don't, then our heavenly Father will not forgive us for our sins!
8) AFTER IT'S DEALT WITH, LET IT GO
Finally, after we've dealt with our anger, then drop it. Leave it behind. Don't carry any more heavy burdens than we need to.