DWDP: Gen 4 - 6 Why are you Angry?

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Why does God ask us about our anger? What does our countenance reveal about our hearts? These profound questions form the foundation of today's powerful devotion from Genesis 4:6-7.

When the Holy One asks Cain, "Why are you angry?", all human justifications fall flat. We can explain away our anger to others—citing violated rights, hurt feelings, or personal offenses—but these explanations crumble before the Righteous Judge. Dr. Jackson guides us through Scripture's portrayal of God's righteous anger toward Israel's idolatry and sin, demonstrating how divine anger always flows from perfect holiness and justice.

But what about our anger? The devotion draws a crucial distinction between righteous indignation that fights for others' rights versus self-centered rage over personal slights. Jesus' temple-cleansing anger protected His Father's house and defended the exploited. Similarly, anger that motivates constructive action against injustices like abortion can be appropriate when channeled productively.

The episode features a powerful testimony from Jimmy McPhee, who spent 46 years in prison. He reveals that 20-30% of inmates are incarcerated for crimes of passion stemming from unbridled anger—with many remaining angry despite years behind bars. Jimmy's own transformation came only through an encounter with Jesus in solitary confinement, highlighting that true heart change requires divine intervention.

Perhaps most striking is Dr. Jackson's exploration of how our facial expressions reveal our hearts before we speak. Whether observing toddlers fighting over toys or adults in conflict, our countenance betrays our inner condition. Christians filled with the Holy Spirit carry a radiant presence—"the aroma of Christ"—that stands in stark contrast to Cain's fallen countenance that foreshadowed violence.

Listen to discover how God addresses the lion of sin crouching at our door, and join us next week as Dr. Jackson continues with practical wisdom for "lion taming and mastering sin." Subscribe now for weekly biblical devotions that transform your understanding of Scripture and daily life.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more
than enough for the ills thatplague our culture and our
country.
Hosted by author and physician,Dr Robert Jackson.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Papa, can you tell me a story?

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Do you really want me to tell you a story?
Well, you go, get your brotherand your sisters and I will tell
you a story.
Well, you go, get your brotherand your sisters and I will tell
you a story.
Welcome to Devotions with DrPapa.
Gather around, grab your Biblesand let us look into the
written Word, which reveals tous the living Word, who is our

(00:40):
Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, today we're at Genesis,chapter 4 and verse 6.
I think I'll read Genesis,verses 6 and 7, although I'm
only going to talk about verse 6today.
Then the Lord said to Cain whyare you angry and why has your

(01:01):
countenance fallen?
If you do well, will not yourcountenance be lifted up?
And if you do not do well, sinis crouching at the door and its
desire is for you, but you mustmaster it.
I'm going to focus today onverse 6.

(01:24):
Then the Lord said to Cain whyare you angry and why has your
countenance fallen?
Now focus on that first phrase,that first question why are you
angry?
That's a hard question toanswer when the Holy God, the

(01:49):
righteous judge, asks thequestion.
If a mortal man asks thequestion, well then you can
prevaricate, you can explain allthe justification for being

(02:09):
angry, how your rights have beenviolated, how you have been
offended, how your feelings werehurt, how the red was licked
off your candy and how youdidn't get your way.

(02:30):
And, of course, you were angry.
But when the Holy One asked thequestion, well, all of your
explanations seem to fall flatand you respond I don't know is

(03:02):
represented in Scripture asbeing an angry God.
Quite often throughout Scripturehe was angry with the children

(03:24):
of Israel when they turned backto the gods of Egypt and if
Moses had not interceded, godwould have destroyed the entire
nation and started all over withMoses.
God was angry with them duringthe time of the judges because
of their turning away from himto worship the gods of the pagan
nations around them, and heallowed the pagan nations to

(03:49):
oppress them until they repentedand sought his face.
Then he provided judges ordeliverers to deliver them from
the pagan nations that wereoppressing them, judges like
Samson and Samuel.

(04:09):
Ultimately, his anger wasaroused again against his chosen
people when they resented or,I'm sorry, resorted to child
sacrifice and worshipped Molechand even placed altars to the

(04:31):
sun god on the roof of thetemple in Jerusalem.
In his righteous indignation,god turned his back on Israel
and turned them over to Babylonfor 70 years.

(04:52):
Is God justified in his anger?
Well, of course he is.
He is God, the Holy One ofIsrael, the righteous judge of
all the earth, who said youshall have no other gods before
me.
He is a jealous God and sharesHis glory with none other.

(05:18):
But here's a question whatabout you and me?
Are we justified in our anger?
Well, yes and no, it depends.
It depends on the source of ouranger.

(05:39):
Are you concerned for yourrights being violated or are you
concerned about the rights ofanother being violated, being
violated?
Consider Jesus, who wasrighteously indignant when his

(06:00):
Father's house was changed froma house of prayer for all
nations into a place ofmercenary temple business,
taking advantage of people fromother nations who must exchange
their foreign currency atexorbitant rates for temple
currency in order to purchase anapproved lamb for sacrifice.

(06:25):
His anger was holy anger on hisfather's behalf.
On his father's behalf, are youangry because the abortion
doctor snuffs out the life ofunborn babies and does that

(06:45):
righteous indignation motivateyou to volunteer at a crisis
pregnant center or go pray at anabortion clinic or lobby for
pro-life legislation or campaignfor a pro-life candidate?
Then I suggest, your anger isjust and its expression is

(07:08):
appropriate.
That's different from the angerthat's sourced in your own
perceived violated rights orhurt feelings or personal
offense that leads to broodingor carnal passions or seeking

(07:30):
revenge.
That's a very different thing.
The Bible tells us to be quickto hear, slow to speak or slow
to anger, for the anger of mandoes not achieve the
righteousness of God.
I once asked my friend JimmyMcPhee, who spent 46 years in

(07:55):
prison, what percentage of theprison population is there
because of crimes of passion,crimes committed because of
anger?
He thought a few moments andreplied he thought a few moments
and replied Doc, 40% are therebecause of crimes committed

(08:18):
while intoxicated.
Another 20-30% are therebecause of crimes of passion,
mostly unbridled anger, and manyof them are still angry despite
years in prison and, ifreleased, would immediately find

(08:39):
the person they are most angrywith and hurt them.
I could take you to the celldoor of hundreds of angry men
who are in prison because oftheir angry and they are still
angry.
So I asked what can be done forthem, jimmy?

(09:03):
Jimmy replied I once was one ofthem, doc.
For 25 years I've raged at thesystem, the guards and the other
prisoners.
It was never my fault.
I was blind to my faults.

(09:24):
Then I met Jesus in solitaryconfinement and he changed my
heart.
He gave me a new heart and tookaway the anger.
God replaced the anger withforgiveness and love and peace.
Only Jesus can change thehearts of those angry men.

(09:49):
Now let's move on.
Angry men, now let's move on.
God also asked Cain why has yourcountenance fallen?
Did you know that your facialexpression reveals what's in

(10:11):
your heart?
Why else do people ask you whatare you so happy about?
Why are you so sad today?
And they often ask you thatquestion when you just simply
walk into a room and you haven'teven said a word.
You see, people can read yourheart by looking at your face.

(10:35):
I have 19 grandchildren.
All of them are under 11 yearsold, except for three of them.
I observe them at familygatherings when they play
together no-transcript Usuallyit's a toy of some sort.

(11:05):
Their angelic facial expressionturns immediately demonic and
they respond with physicalviolence punching, pulling hair
and screeching like a wildanimal.
The same thing happens in barsand juke joints every weekend

(11:31):
night, but usually over beer,women and perceived insults.
But you can observe the angerin the heart and on the
countenance before the violenceensues in these so-called adults

(11:51):
.
Some people have a hard heartand they have a hard countenance
, hard facial expressions, andyou can tell what's in their
heart by observing the hardnessof their countenance.
Conversely, some Christianfolks have a heart full of Jesus

(12:18):
, full of sweet peace, and itshows on their facial expression
.
They have a radiant countenance.
More than that, they have thearoma of Christ all about them.
You can almost diagnose them asa Christian before they even

(12:45):
opened their mouth.
They have that radiantexpression and that atmosphere
about them that is unique toChrist followers who are full of
Holy Spirit, but not Cain.

(13:07):
His heart was full of anger.
He had rejected thetruth-telling of his righteous
brother, whom Jesus calledrighteous and a prophet.
And now he was mad because Godhad rejected his offering and it

(13:28):
was plain as day on his face.
In verse 7, god gives Cain somestrong advice about dealing
with sin, which was crouching athis door like a lion.

(13:55):
Next week we're going to talkabout lion taming and mastering
sin, and until then, may theLord bless you.
Real good, you're listening toDevotions with Dr Poppe.
We'll be back next week.

Speaker 2 (14:18):
Thank you for listening to this edition of
More Than Medicine.
For more information about theJackson Family Ministry or to
schedule a speaking engagementinformation about the Jackson
Family Ministry or to schedule aspeaking engagement, go to
their Facebook page, instagramor webpage at
jacksonfamilyministrycom.
Also, don't forget to check outDr Jackson's books that are
available on Amazon.
The Family Doctor Speaks theTruth About Life in his first

(14:41):
book, and the Family DoctorSpeaks the truth about seed
planting equipping believers forevangelism is his second.
This podcast is produced by BobSloan Audio Productions.