Don't light the fuse!

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to "Try Jesus!" If this is your first time joining us, it’s great to have you with us. I would like to thank all the new members for joining "Try Jesus."

I would also like to welcome those in Mississippi, Illinois, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Virginia, and Florida. It is a pleasure to have you with us today. The Lord continues to expand his word!

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."  (Psalm 122:1 KJV). The Lord is indescribable and uncontainable. We gather to seek him above all today. He is an amazing God!

We can rejoice in the Lord when our speech life has been transformed by the touch of his mighty power. (Isaiah 6:5-7). Many of you have been seeking the Lord to give you words of blessing and not cursing since last week.

Our Lord always works eternally to bring his light shining outwards to others around us. How many of you see his wonderous working power throughout your community today? Our God continues to seek broken hearts.

Let's welcome his presence this morning. "Heavenly Father, we thank you in all things that you continue to show yourself faithful, even when our faith stumbles to trust you, you continue to prove yourself over and over again.

We thank you Lord that we never have to look outside of you to receive all that we need today. As our nation continues to sway back and forth between which directions to take from leaders, we stand on a solid ground of care by you.

As I pray each week, Lord please bring hearts together today. Though we be miles apart, your word still has Pentecostal power to fill this online space throughout "TRY JESUS" ministry today. Jesus, set captives free.

Father, please give us understanding, hope, and truth that sets us free to serve others with love and compassion. May we be transformed in our minds by the renewing power of your Holy Spirit.

Give your church boldness to proclaim your saving word from the highest mountain to the lowest valley. As we connect with others Lord, let unity and clear communication come from the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name, Amen."

How many of you have heard about the "Angry Birds" game or movie? I've never seen the movie myself, but I've had some people describe to me what the movie and game is about. I just remember a certain look of the red bird.

Have you ever seen faces of people that leave an indelible mark on your conscience? Sometimes looks can carry a character and integrity deep within without it being acted out.

I wasn't shocked to find out what the character "Red" had in the Angry Birds movie. He happened to be a bird who flew around with a short temper. I thought to myself as I was preparing for today's message, "I've seen this before."

I've seen it a long time ago in my upbringing and in various places throughout my lifetime. I've seen it at my employer. And you might not believe it, but I've seen it inside funeral homes and churches.

I tell myself, "I've seen that kind of face all over the place." I've even seen it in the mirror. Many of you have experienced this type of look over and over again in your lives.

Some of you this morning may also be thinking right now, "What's an "Angry Bird" movie about?" You can ask those people in your church who are 25 or younger to explain it to you. Again, the movie was based off a video game.

Again, I only bring it up because certain appearances on people’s faces can leave an appearance that you always remember. As Halloween has come and gone this week, many of you have seen worse faces than an angry bird.

But how many of you see this personality emotion on a daily basis? How many of you live with anger? How many of you grew up with such an image that it was ingrained in your psyche?

Many of you know first-hand what anger looks like. It doesn't always come with the same temperament. Many times, it can be deceptive but still have the same impact. Some of you may remember a movie called "Mommy Dearest."

The movie stars Joan Crawford who takes in two orphans. Everything seems to be going well at first, but her callous and abusive behavior towards her daughter started to show more openly as her daughter matured.

I chose two vastly different movies to make the point that mismanaged anger can hide behind many facades. Is it possible to be angry and abusive behind a smile? Many women have experienced this type of behavior in their marriage.

Today's message is about being set free from underneath the suppressed facade of anger and the forms of abuse that come with it. Here are just a few statistical numbers surrounding how this affects groups of people.

In our country today, mental abuse, and other abuses are reported with higher rates than what men report. Men typically report psychological anger aggression. Children experience high rates of angered abuse in the home.

Anger associated with domestic violence often occurs with children being in the home. About 1 in 3 women will experience some form of anger related abuse in their lifetime. Nearly half of women have experienced this.

When it comes to our precious gifts (children) from the Lord, they are by far exposed to all forms of anger and maltreatment in our nation. Over 600,000 children 10 years ago experienced some forms of abuse.

Worldwide, 6 in 10 children under age 5 regularly experience violence anger. Millions of children are exposed to various types of unchecked anger in their homes. Of course there are other abuses that come out due to anger.

But anger, in its infant stage, should be exposed and extinguished before it can metastasize and spread into other areas where control becomes much harder to deal with. So many of you have heard or know someone who's dealing with this.

But how does God deal with anger? Why do so many people run to every source, mental, (hypnotic) medicinal, book idea, and professional management to combat an internal problem that can be dealt with by the power of GodAlmighty?

Notice, I didn't say any power. I said, the power of God, who created man in his image. No one knows the clay better than the potter. There are so many examples in the word of God where man tried to fix things that only God can fix.

Anger, an internal combustible emotion, can only be truly delt with by submitting it to God. You can find anger all through the Bible. Recently, one man in the news tried to use anger as an excuse to attack peaceful individuals.

He had the audacity to try and use scripture that portrayed Jesus going into the temple and chasing people out to justify his rage for tearing down their sign and table. His motives were cloaked in darkness not righteous indignation.

How could I tell? Because those who he attacked were not profaning anything. In the Bible, Jesus was angry at the money changers because they profited from the exchange of money from other currencies into official Jewish currency.

He criticized the commercialism that profaned the holiness of the Temple. People will always try to justify their reasons for allowing anger to give cover for their offenses. Anger always has a fuse attached to it.

The length of that fuse depends on how fast it is moved by the mental mechanism that burns it. Let's take a look at where this anger started a long time ago. When I mention the names Cain and Abel, what comes to your mind

Please read (Genesis 4:1-3) aloud into your spirit, family, or study group. Cain and Abel's parents once had a close relationship with God, but after being removed from the Garden of Eden, they had to struggle to provide for their family.

Cain ended up becoming farmer, and Abel was a shepherd. Adam and Eve still knew that God existed and taught their children to offer sacrifices unto the Lord. (Verses 3 and 4). In doing so, Cain and Abel prepared to offer sacrifices.

4} "And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5} But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6} And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7} If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

8} And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

9} And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:4-9 KJV).

When we take a close look at why we sacrifice unto to the Lord, the answer can be found in only one place, your heart. For example, if I asked you, why do you attend church each weekend? Or why do you attend Bible studies?

Why do you read your Bible everyday? Why do you offer a prayer life towards God? Because with everything we do concerning our relationship with God, he will always focus on that wonderful muscle he created, "The heart."

It's where all issues of life flow from. Notice what David passed down to his son Solomon and how Solomon was blessed with wisdom and wise choices. These powerful words are still proven effective in 2025.

20} "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21} Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

22} For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. 23} Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:20-23 KJV).

Again, God always looks at our hearts concerning these issues we face each day. Samuel the prophet found this out when seeking to choose the next king of Israel. God knows us better than we know ourselves.

"But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 KJV).

You see beloved, when Cain and Abel offered their sacrifices, God didn't choose Cain's sacrifice because he was better looking or had better tools or was offering more expensive items. It simply had to do with motive of their hearts.

The sacrifice of an evil person is detestable, especially when it is offered with wrong motives. God evaluates both our motives and the quality of what we offer him. Notice Cain's immediate response. He was visibly upset.

It says in (Genesis 4:5) that Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell. Wroth in the Hebrew word (chârâh) means to glow or grow warm. To blaze up in anger. Have zeal of jealousy, to wax hot. To be furious, incensed.

So, would you say Cain was just a little bit angry? (Smile). He was so angry it affected his countenance (Hebrew word pânîym). This just simply means that his anger showed through the presence of his face.

Have you ever seen someone's facial expression quickly change because they are extremely furious about something? Cain certainly couldn't hide his anger from God. The fuse was lit in his heart and God saw it.

What lit this destructive fuse? What did God call it? Sin. This small little word, and the tongue can cause great damage to self and those around them when the fuse detonates its intended target. (James 1:26-27; 3:5-17).

[For Cain to subdue the sin that was crouching at the door, he would have to give up his jealous anger so that sin would not find a foothold in his life. Sin is still crouching at our doors today.]

The originator of sin comes from Satan himself. He uses anger to inflict as much damage to those affected by it. It's the same visual picture as an explosive that causes collateral damage from the source of impact.

This sin's fuse was lit from Cain's heart. It's intended target, his brother Abel. Have you ever wondered why Cain didn't take up his complaint with his parents or God? Have you noticed people will get angry with the messenger in church?

When it comes to sermons or my approach to individuals who get angry at the message, I usually tell them, "Why are you directing your anger at me?" "You should direct your anger and displeasure at the author of this book."

Notice how Cain's burning fuse of anger led him to do the most unthinkable act you can do to someone, take their life (murder them). Jealousy has a long and short fuse to it. And when it comes to trying and extinguishing it, we use another sin.

And what sin did Cain use? He lied. I can remember my mother would catch us in a lie and use the words, "How can you stand in front of me with a straight face and lie like that!" Sometimes people can live a life of lies.

Some people are very good at this. Lying with a straight face means that, you tell the lie so well that you show no hint, no emotion that what you are telling is a lie. Jesus could see right through this mask of deceit when speaking with others.

24} "But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25} And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man." (John 2:24-25 KJV).

3} "And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4} And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?" (Matthew 9:3-4 KJV).

We'll get to more of how Jesus sees and understands our anger and how we can control it later. Again, there is nothing worse on earth than spilling blood. (Leviticus 17:10-14). Cain followed his lie by deflecting responsibility. (Verse 9).

Anger and lying are usually connected in one way or another. Our nation has been numbed to how we approach anger, rage, lying, and murder. Do you think our nation has an anger problem in it? Look at all the faces of those in politics.

Examine the faces (mainly people under 30) of those who do nothing but protest and shout obscenities at their opponents. Many think cursing is ok today. There are people who walk around today angry about everything.

How can they live like that? With our government being in disarray and shutdown, will people use anger as an excuse the way Cain did to start committing unlawful acts and hurting