YOU MAKE ME CRAZY - 2. Who Is Pushing Your Buttons?

Today we learned that God does get angry. Matter of fact, the Bible tells us that God "feels indignation every day." (Psalm 7:11). Jesus also got angry. When he entered the temple and overturned the tables of the money-changers, he even made a whip of cords. While in the synagogue in Capernaum, "he looked around at them (Pharisees) with anger..." (Mark 3:5).

The anger that God and Jesus displayed in the Bible was without sin. The anger that God feels every day, and the recorded events in the Bible of Jesus' anger is and was for the right reasons. "The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord..." (1 Kings 11:9). Paul tells us in Romans that "God's anger is being revealed from heaven against all impiety (lack of reverence) and against the iniquity of men who through iniquity suppress the truth." (Romans 1:18). The anger Jesus had in Capernaum was because he "...grieved at their (Pharisees) hardness of heart..." (Mark 3:5).

As we learn more about how to deal with Crazy Makers, much of our effort must center around self examination. We can't change others, but we can learn to react in a way that will bring glory to God. It requires that we be surrendered to the power of the Holy Spirit. We must grow in knowledge and wisdom if we are to be successful dealing with Crazy Makers. It will also ensure that we do not become Crazy Makers to others. Taking our knowledge beyond the classroom is dependent upon the priority we place on walking with God. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning...". (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10).

In today's lesson, I pointed out our brain's center of emotions--the amygdala. Located in the physical center of the head, the amygdala receive inputs from all of our senses and unconsciously processes those senses. It then sends signals to the body to prepare the body to react to a perceived threat, or to anticipate pleasure. In the case of a threat, fear and anger will manifest themselves in a similar physiological way: muscles tense up, burst of energy, increased heart rate, rise in blood pressure, increase rate of breathing, face becomes flush, and a release of adrenaline and noradrenalin. When someone "pushes your buttons", you will feel these sensations. It is then up to you to manage the body's natural survival instincts. (Look at slides 20 and 21 to see facts about Jesus' anger)

Anger is learned and can be unlearned, or you might say, the way we respond to our fear/anger can be learned. In this lesson we discussed the 5 ways to disarm button-pushers (slides 25-30). It requires hard work and training to ensure that our bodies respond and behave in a way that always brings glory to God. It takes a complete surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit. We MUST learn to fear the Lord and a life of apathy, impiety, and iniquity--things that make God angry.

The slides from today's lesson are below. Next week, our You Make Me Crazy study will continue with a lesson titled: "How to Resolve Conflict".

YOU MAKE ME CRAZY - 1. Six Keys To Peace In Relationships

The Way of Wisdom is a narrow, winding path through a beautiful, yet treacherous forest requiring surefootedness to navigate. Those that choose to wander from the path into the Forest of Regret often lose their way. Keeping on the path guarantees that we will not only find God’s purpose for our lives, but peace in all of our relationships.

Having the KNOWLEDGE of what is written in the first paragraph will do us no good. WISDOM is doing what is written.

Knowledge is merely having clarity of facts and truths while wisdom is the practical ability to make consistently good decisions in life.

The Bible tells us that “…all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden” in “…the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.” (Colossians 2:3).

Our greatest motivator to action (applying wisdom) is often the fear of the consequences that might result if we don’t act. The Bible states that knowledge and wisdom originate with the “…fear of the Lord.”

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge.” Proverbs 1:7; “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.” Proverbs 9:10

We obey (apply) the knowledge acquired from God’s Word because we fear the warnings given to the fool. We don’t want to be like those who wander into the Forest of Regret or act as fools in relationships. We FEAR the consequences promised to those who turn from wisdom.

“…if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom!” (Proverbs 2:1-22)

There are six keys to having peace in relationships found in James 3:17. These six keys are the outpouring of wisdom and provide us with a shield ("...he is their shield..." Proverbs 2:7) to protect us from the crazy makers in life.

1. First of all, wisdom is PURE;

2. Wisdom is PEACE LOVING;

3. Wisdom is GENTLE at all times;

4. Wisdom is willing to YIELD TO OTHERS;

5. Wisdom is FULL OF MERCY & GOOD DEEDS;

6. Wisdom is IMPARTIAL & always SINCERE

The slides from today’s lesson are below. Next week, our lesson will be “Who’s Pushing Your Buttons?”

YOU MAKE ME CRAZY - Introduction

YOU MAKE ME CRAZY! Who are these people that seem to make us crazy? How can we survive these relationships God's way?

We all have relationships that drive us crazy. Whether it's a boyfriend or girlfriend, spouse, sibling, parent, co-worker, or crazy relative you see once a year at Thanksgiving, a crazy-maker can really make life difficult. The YMMC Series will help bring sanity to your relationships so you can do more than just coexist. It will help you learn how to connect with the crazy-makers in your life.

In this series we’re looking at how to deal with the crazy making people in our own lives, but we’re also looking at the crazy making thoughts, attitudes, feelings and actions that we ourselves are foisting on people. I must always be willing to look at my craziness first before I look at someone else’s.

This is the only way to break the stranglehold that anger can have on every one of us. Our own anger is a major tool that Satan uses to take advantage of us. Anger can have devastating effects on us Spiritually, Emotionally, Relationally, Financially, Vocationally, Intellectually and Physically.

Everyone is somebody's difficult person.

Today we identified six of the most common types of crazy makers (there are hundreds). As you read these descriptions, you will more than likely see yourself in one or more of them.

Demanding

These are The Little Dictators of life. They are the little Napoleons. They are Bossy, Pushy, Controlling, and Intimidating. They tend to dominate every conversation. They often turn every conversation into a power struggle. They make unrealistic demands on your life, your time and your schedule. They push, manipulate and coerce to try to get you to do what they want. They’re demanding, and it drives you crazy. They’re the little dictators of life.

Disapproving

I call them The Unpleasables. They are highly critical. Your best is never good enough. They always want more. They are Negative, Pessimistic and Judgmental. They’re perfectionists. They love to point out your mistakes. You’re never good enough for them.

Deafening

They’re loud. They’re loud mouths. They are The Megaphones of life. They like to talk and they often talk at 120 decibels. If you have a Megaphone on the phone you will not get off for at least fifteen minutes because they will just keep on talking. They will talk you into surrender. They will talk you into the ground. They love to argue. They could argue all day long.

Destructive

These are people who have uncontrolled anger. I call them The Volcanoes. You can spot a volcano from afar. You never know when they’re going to erupt. But when they erupt you know it. They've got a temper like Mount Vesuvius or like Mount Saint Helens. When they explode and blow up they leave scorching hot lava burning everything in the path. If you have a volcano in your life you tend to walk on eggshells part of the time. The family will live in fear of when the next blow up is going to happen. There’s a lot of tension and the burn causalities are quite high. These are the destructive crazy makers, the volcanoes.

Discontented

Discontented crazy makers get their feelings hurt very, very easily. They’re very sensitive. They’re very touchy. They’re very thin skinned and they whine a lot. They can be called The Cry Babies. They hold daily pity parties. They host the party and they like to moan and mourn “Poor Me!” They’re chronic complainers and they've got a martyr complex and they get their attention by whining. When they whine they get that nasally sound, whining all the time. It just grates on you like fingernails on a blackboard. These are the Cry Babies. They’re never happy.

Demeaning

These people are The Smart Mouths. The smart mouths are rude, they’re insulting and they use caustic and sarcastic language. They might even curse. More than just cursing, complaining and caustic they’re bubble busters. They like to bust your bubble. They like to wear your dream down. They love to deflate you. They joy in telling you how you don’t measure up. They’re disrespectful and they can be petty and they can be mean. These are the smart mouths. People who are rude the majority of the time are people who have enormous insecurities.

The only effective way you can be of any good to a crazy maker is to be fully surrendered to God. He is the true source of love. You can not love difficult people in your life without God.

A big part of this series will be to help us all know how to better relate to those who are closest to us--husbands, wives, children, parents, extended family. I will be using our StrenghtsFinder talents to help guide us each towards more peaceful, rich, and enjoyable relationships. If you have not yet completed the StrengthsFinder test, please go to the link below to purchase a code to take the online test ($9.99 per test):

(https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/Purchase/?utm_source=nobooks&utm_medium=webreferral&utm_campaign=strengthsdashboard)

Send me your test results and we will make cards for the bulletin board.

Next week, we will study the SIX KEYS TO PEACEFUL RELATIONSHIPS.

SOLVING THE MONEY PUZZLE - Chapter 9

When the Hebrew people said to the prophet Samuel, "Give us a king to lead us." he was displeased. When Samuel took their request to the Lord, God said, "...they have rejected me as their king." God told Samuel to return to the people and "...warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights." (see I Samuel 8:6-22)

The message God gave the Hebrews was very clear: I AM YOUR KING! There can be no substitute. God made certain that Samuel spelled it out to the Hebrews in detail. Samuel told them the terrible things that would happen to them if they empowered a king (a man) to rule over them. He told them that they would give up their freedom. He told them that they would one day cry out for relief from their king but the Lord would not answer their cries. These foolish people, even after God's stern warnings, refused to listen to Samuel and said, "No! We want a king over us."

So be it! "The Lord answered, 'Listen to them and give them a king.'" The rest is history...a very sad history of hundreds of years of oppression resulting from one bad king after another.

This lesson teaches that God never intended for sinful man to rule over others with supreme power. Kings, pharaohs, sheiks, shahs, wangs,  maharajahs, emperors, and presidents should never be empowered with ultimate authority over man.

We also looked at One World Government; the purpose of government--to protect or provide; taxes; welfare; and the responsibility and instruction we have from God to obey authority. God is sovereign and "...there is no authority except that which God has established." 

Next week we start a new series: YOU MAKE ME CRAZY

SOLVING THE MONEY PUZZLE - Review

Today's class was a short review of the past eight weeks of the Solving the Money Puzzle series. The Bible study hour was cut short due to the church-wide Christmas program.

We will complete the SMP series next Sunday with the final lesson: Government: Friend or Foe? In this lesson we will discuss the Biblical mandate for government and our responsibilities.

Below are the slides from today's lesson.

Christmas Party - 2014

SOLVING THE MONEY PUZZLE - Chapter 8

Teaching and training children how to become wise money managers requires tireless commitment from dedicated parents. In this lesson, we looked at what the Bible teaches about the great responsibility of parents to train their children--not only in the area of money, but about all of the issues of life. When is the right time to teach our children?

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Children are constantly observing and learning. The most efficient way to train our children is by example, while there is still hope. This requires that we, as mentors and teachers, be examples worthy of being followed.

The most effective way to train our children is in love. Correcting your children in anger is never effective and almost always creates resentment.

"Fathers, don't make your children angry, but raise them with the kind of teaching and training you learn from the Lord." Ephesians 6:4

The consequences of not being prepared to teach your children and not being willing to invest the necessary time to train your children can be devastating to you and your future. It can destroy generations to come in your family tree.

We must always remember that our children are given to us as a gift from God. They are His children and we are entrusted with them for only a short time. It is our job as parents to "Train up a child..." Proverbs 22:6

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him." Psalm 127:3

The lesson slides are below. Next week we will complete this series with the lesson: Government: Friend or Foe? Our next series will be You Make Me Crazy.