By Warren David Horak

Love Is Not Irritated or Angry

Do you have "buttons", that when pressed you react in the flesh?

When we are free from these buttons the enemy will not be able to get us to fall into His traps of manipulation and witchcraft.

The Lord is able to set us free from the buttons of anger and irritation.

Imagine walking in such love that nothing gets you rattled.

Love is the ultimate weapon of war that will cause us to overcome all our enemies.

Ephesians 4:31–32 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Listen on Spotify as Audio

Watch the video below

Introduction

Today, we're diving deep into a crucial aspect of our Christian walk - love.

But not just any love. 

We're exploring the multifaceted nature of God's love, specifically focusing on how it relates to anger and irritation. 

This teaching is part 9 of our series on the 16 facets of love found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

The Lord has instructed us to learn how to love because it's the greatest commandment and the most powerful weapon we have.

Love, combined with truth, forms an unbeatable arsenal against the enemy's attacks.

As we delve into these facets of love, we'll discover how they can transform our lives and make us impenetrable to the schemes of the enemy.

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NKJV

The Power of Love

Love is not just a feeling; it's a force that can overcome everything the enemy throws at us.

When we walk in love and truth, we become unstoppable.

But here's the catch - we need to learn how to love.

It's not something that comes naturally to all of us. In fact, for most of my Christian walk, I avoided focusing on love because I knew it was difficult.

I was more of a fighter, more aggressive. I wondered, "How is love going to work in warfare?"

But God has shown me that love is the greatest weapon.

He's given me testimonies of love overcoming extreme attacks of the enemy, extreme witchcraft, and other intense spiritual warfare.

All of these were overcome by love.

The Facets of Love We're Exploring Today

Today, we're looking at numbers 8 and 10 of the 16 facets of love:

"Love is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity" (1 Corinthians 13:5-6 NKJV)

Let's break this down and see how it applies to our lives.

Love is Not Irritated

The Lord showed us years ago that when you get irritated, Jezebel is very close to you.

One of the demons of Jezebel is called irritation. 

You can have a demon of anger, a demon of fear, but you can also have one of irritation.

If you're feeling irritated, it's not a fruit of the Spirit.

It's a lust of the flesh.

Irritation is not from the Lord, and anger is not from the Lord.

God is slow to anger, and He clearly tells us:

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice." (Ephesians 4:31 NKJV)

He didn't say put it on; He said put it away.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say to be angry.

Some people misinterpret the scripture that says, "Be angry and do not sin."

What it's really saying is if you get angry, don't sin.

Don't step into that anger and lose your temper with somebody.

The Danger of Buttons

Do you have buttons?

You know, those sensitive spots that when pressed, cause you to react in the flesh?

Maybe you've said something like, "Don't press my buttons." Usually, spouses or family members know these buttons well.

These buttons are all dealt with in Christ because we've died to the flesh. We've died to the buttons.

But as long as you justify yourself and say, "This is the way I am, I'm built like this, I'm just an angry person," you're not allowing Christ's work to fully manifest in your life.

Jesus died to set us free from anger, irritation, fear, bitterness, and all these things.

He made us just like Him.

But we have to believe it and surrender to Him.

Walking in Perfect Love

Imagine walking in such love that nothing gets you rattled.

That's how Jesus was.

When He said to turn the other cheek, He was talking about our emotions.

Your cheek represents your emotions - it's a vulnerable part of your body. 

When someone slaps you emotionally and hurts you, Jesus says to turn the other cheek.

It's not easy, but it's the way of love.

The policy of the flesh is, "You hit me, I hit you 10 times more." But Jesus said turn the other cheek.

We often say, "No, I'm not going to turn the cheek." But that's not the way of love.

The Root of Bitterness

Bitterness often comes from unforgiveness that we've harbored.

It's like cancer, a bitter root that causes our spiritual fruit to die. 

The Bible says:

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:31-32 NKJV)

We need to forgive people even if they don't say sorry.

 We can't wait for them to apologize.

God says we better forgive them just like God forgave us in Christ.

The Danger of Unbelief

Unbelief is often at the root of our anger and irritation.

When we don't believe we're new creations in Christ, we hold onto our old ways of reacting.

We believe we are the way we've always been, the way our parents or teachers told us we were.

But God says we're new creations in Christ.

Every time we fall is an opportunity to get up, to overcome.

That's why we're called overcomers.

If you're having big problems, it's a good sign - it shows the magnitude of God's calling on your life.

Love is Not Provoked

In the Greek, the word "provoked" means to make sharp, to irritate, to arouse to anger, to scorn, to despise, to make angry, to exasperate.

Love doesn't do any of these things.

When we're walking in God's love, we can't be provoked to anger.

No one can make us angry.

The only reason we get angry is that we're not full of love.

If we were perfect in love, there would be no anger.

The Solution: Surrender and Love

The solution to our anger and irritation is surrender and love.

We need to die to self and say, "Lord, I surrender myself to you. Thank you that you're going to fill me with your love."

When we walk in the perfect love of God with all its facets, we become impenetrable.

We become completely sealed with the love of God.

When the enemy tries to attack us with witchcraft or other weapons, they just bounce off.

We become un-irritable, and nothing can make us angry.

Conclusion: 

As we conclude this teaching on the facets of love, particularly focusing on how love is not irritated or provoked, let's remember that this is a journey.

We're all learning to love as God loves.

It's not easy, but it's the most powerful thing we can do.

When we embrace these facets of love - being slow to anger, not easily irritated, forgiving quickly, and believing in our new nature in Christ - we become more like Jesus.

We become unstoppable forces of God's love in this world.

Remember, love is the way through the valley of the shadow of death we're currently in.

It's the only way to overcome the challenges we face. As we learn to walk in love, we become sealed with God's love, impenetrable to the enemy's attacks.

So, let's commit to learning these facets of love. Let's surrender our buttons, our irritations, our anger to God. Let's ask Him to fill us with His perfect love.

As we do, we'll find ourselves overcoming in ways we never thought possible, all through the power of God's love.

May the Lord bless you as you continue to grow in these facets of love.

Remember, every challenge is an opportunity to overcome, to grow in love, and to become more like Christ.

Keep pressing on, beloved. The journey of love is worth it.

FAQ on "16 Facets of Love"