 Good afternoon everybody and welcome to Unfiltered. Pastor, welcome as usual as always. Welcome. Pastor, on Sunday I wanted to speak a little bit about angry pulpit, angry church. On Sunday you were referencing it. Instead of a church that or pulpit that has the congregation walking out in faith and joy, there can be a tendency for those who have an angry pulpit that leaves an angry church when people are really lost and need Jesus, what would you say the fruit of an angry pulpit and or an angry church? Well the fruit of an angry pulpit has already been said it's an angry church. Today we're living in a time when I think that we're especially prone to angry churches because excuse me if you have an angry pastor, a pastor who is angry over the way the world is and a pastor who perhaps is fantasized that the world has never been as bad as it is right now then naturally he's going to rail against what he sees as being the wrongs of the world and in doing so he's going to he's going to gather a crowd of people who also feel angry and so the fruit of an angry pulpit will always be a group of angry people and then they go out into the world and before you know it they're wanting to argue with everybody they do they start at arguments with people they they begin to become self-righteous because they have the inside knowledge of how things should be things aren't that way we know why they're not that way and you're not listening to us when we tell you why they're that way therefore now they're angry at them I think there is a time for for a righteous anger of course when we see what's taking place in in our nation today when we not even in our nation alone when we see what takes place in our in our state or in our cities our counties there is a place for a for a righteous indignation there is a place for us to say this is not how it should be and a place for us to speak out against it I mean I was sharing just as you mentioned just this last Sunday out of Acts chapter 2 when after the Holy Spirit had fallen upon the 120 disciples and people began to mock and the apostle Peter had gone out to preach he had said and I mentioned this recently he had said save yourself from this perverse generation so I looked that up I wanted to know what are you referring to and he was basically referring to the generation as it is Jesus himself it's spoken concerning that generation in this way he had said this is a wicked and an adulterous generation so so he was speaking of the generation or age of his day but it's also an age that we share in now it's an age that we live in which is perverse it's twisted it's crooked and so when a pastor comes up and and points out those things you've got on the one hand in in the church you've got unbelievers you've got people who live carnal lives you know very often trying to walk both with the spirit and the flesh you have a variety you have you have believers who are growing and you have mature you know you have a mix so it's going to affect people differently so if you're always angry about what's going on you're going to have a group of people who are growing angry along with you probably in agreement with you maybe even shouting out their approval of what you're saying to the point where you begin to think that you are really making a difference because you have a crowd of people who agree with you and yet when you look at what's taking place in in Acts 2 right after he says save yourself from this this perverse generation he with many other words continues to speak and then 3,000 people are saved so they were convicted they were convinced and as a result the church grows by 3,000 people in one message and then you see what's taking place after that which is abiding in the in the apostles doctrine and prayer and breaking of bread and and and and in apostles okay now I got myself apostles doctrine and breaking of bread and prayers and fellowship those four elements are taking place and then other things are taking place amongst amongst them to the point where people begin to to be aware of that this this phenomena has happened right and they now added to the church but it doesn't indicate to us that he keeps telling them that they're perverse or and it doesn't seem to to follow that he starts telling everybody else you know we'll just keep that same message going you know in chapter three what you end up with is you end up with them going to pray and having the opportunity of seeing God in miraculous in a miraculous way heal a crippled man and you see the gifts of the spirit exercised you know during that time and so I would say that if anybody had the absolute right to be outraged and angry it's obviously our savior and yet our savior sent us out to a world that is perverse and twisted is crooked and in need but he didn't tell me to be mad at it and he told me to win the lost and on the one hand I get fueled by by my opposition to and abhorrence of the evil that's so widespread and so accepted we do speak against the darkness we are the light but at the same time if I'm not careful it's very easy for me to begin to actually be angry at people in general there are some people that you reserve anger for people who are willfully destructive hurtful harmful hurting children perhaps and and things things of that nature there's a place for an indignation but there is no place for me to to to not think that they should be saved or to pray for them and I don't know John I I just feel that we're living in a very mixed up time I really do and the more you rail against the evil as it is you're going to have people who are going to join you in railing and it and it does attract a crowd of people it can not always sometimes it pushes people away who wants to be around angry people all the time you know the proverb says that we're not to have friendship with an angry man lest we learn his ways and and I think sometimes that pastors can think that they are righteously angry when in fact they're just angry so yeah I was talking about that that's well you know that because I'm as we wrap up here I'm wondering what model did Peter give the model that he was angry no three thousand people were added to the church and then they went on and they started ministering to people where was Jesus really ever angry and given a message was he turning over the tables in a righteous anger yes so I I was thinking about this as developing this question is is where where did the anger originate was it something that is taken on by someone who may be self-righteous and saying this is the only way because I don't see Jesus ever responding Paul maybe Peter in bringing correction in some ways Paul the first Corinthians but he wasn't angry so I'm wondering where the origination came the origination very often is flesh is flesh you know be angry and sin not it's not that we don't get angry but we need to restrain ourselves from doing things that are sinful and so you know there are there are times that you see Paul show a flash of anger like when he was he was struck in the face and on occasion the high priest was speaking to him and you know he he's god will strike you you whitewash to him I mean you see a flash of his a righteous anger because of the violation of the law in that way so there are times when you might see a portion of a personality revealed but even so when he they said you don't do you rail against the high priest that way he said I didn't even know he's a high priest you know so there's a lot of by the way there's a lot of comments as to related to that because Jesus is the high priest that man no longer is but even so he was he was acting in defiance of what a high priest is actually supposed to to act like an also you can really develop a lot related to that but you do see him rebuking you do see him speaking forcefully in that way and it was an injustice I just I'm not convinced with the average that the average Christian has the spiritual maturity to be able to to say no this is pure righteous indignation I just the average Christian that I encounter and again I'm in ministry I encounter people who are believers but who don't necessarily exercise self-control or the other elements of the fruit of the spirit and sometimes they are just angry for angry sake so yeah I really believe that that the people ought to walk out of the the walls of a church service edified encouraged given hope in and exercising faith in the other things and and learn to love the world that's that's going to go to hell without the gospel of Jesus pastor thank you so much for sharing that it was something I've been thinking about in and what enrages the fruit and you're able to explain to us that there is no fruit it's just anger and self-righteousness and and so with that I want to invite our church family for our services tomorrow evening as you're continuing to take us through the book of Romans and and afterwards we're celebrating communion as a church family which is always special we have worship we have the word and we have communion so I want to invite you guys to come out and join us and a reminder that Sunday we have our services at 8 30 and 10 45 good opportunity to come in come in and join us as well as we continue to you're teaching us through the power of the Holy Spirit uh it was we're in acts last week and we have something coming up for this Sunday as well so look forward to having you come out pastor again thank you for sharing with us thank you guys for tuning in and God bless you