Provoked

You may be seated. Turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 13 as we continue our series on the symphony of love. 1 Corinthians chapter 13. And we'll be looking at verses 4-8. 1 Corinthians 13:4 says, "Charity or love suffereth long and is kind. Charity envieth not. Charity vaunted not itself, is not puffed up. not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinkketh no evil, rejoices not in iniquity, excuse me, but rejoices in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeeth all things, endureth all things, charity or love never fails. And we want to continue through this study.

I want to again challenge you if you have not already to memorize these verses. And if you do, when you can quote them, you'll get one of these candy bars, these Hershey's Symphony candy bars. And uh they are good. I tested them out to make sure of that and uh so uh memorize the verses and come quote to me or with somebody one of our other leaders and they'll be glad to get you a candy bar on that. But today we're continuing on through and to look at the different characters of love. And if you look there in verse number five, it says that it does not behave itself unseemly, seek it not her own, is not easily provoked.

And that's the the the section we're going to look at today. Uh the characteristic of love is not easily provoked. And and the question I want to ask you is this. What what shakes you up? What what is it that provokes you and shakes you up? For some of us, it's our spouse. You know, they just kind of know the buttons to push and they just do that, say that or do something or whatever, and it just gets you all shook up inside. For others, it's your kids. You know, kids can shake you up, can't they? And they can get you all wound up. Or perhaps it's that boss at work or that coworker or wherever else it might be.

And uh to illustrate this phrase, what I want to do is I want to use an illustration many of you have seen before. But I have here a bottle of Coke and I have a bottle of fruit juice. Now, if I take this bottle of Coke and this bottle of fruit juice and I provoke them, I shake them up. Now, let me ask you a question. What is going to happen when I open these two bottles? Uh if I open this bottle facing over in this direction over here, it's going to make a mess. If I open this bottle facing over this direction, it's not going to make a mess. And and the difference is not the circumstances on the outside.

We like to say, "Yeah, but I get so mad because and we blame our circum my wife makes me so mad. My husband makes it's my kids that get me upset. It's that boss at work." And we blame our circumstances when really the problem is is what's on the inside. That's what's the difference is in Romans 12 and verses 17 and 18. It says, "Recompense to no man evil for evil. provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lith in you, live peaceibly with all men. See, it's what lies within you that makes the difference. You cannot control those outside circumstances. You can't control how that other person will provoke you and shake you up.

It It's what's inside of you that makes the difference. And if what's inside of you is the works of the flesh, turn over to Galatians chapter 5. Galatians chapter 5 and look at verses 19- 21. Galatians chapter 5 and beginning with verse number 19. The Bible says, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness." How many of you have ever heard that word lasciviousness before? Uh it's not a word we use very often. The word means if it feels good, do it. You know, we live in a world today that whatever feels good, do it. Doesn't matter the consequences.

Doesn't matter what's right or wrong. If it feels good, do it. And then it goes on to say, uh, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance. There's another word we're not quite familiar with. It means discord, strife, contention, or intense selfish disagreement. When you have strife with somebody, and a lot of that is caused by your selfishness. And and then continue on down. It says uh emulations which means divisive, sinful and envious attitude. And then wrath, strife, seditions. Seditions is a cause rebellion against lawful authority or unity. And it goes on heresies, envies, murders, drunkenness, rellings, and such like of the which I tell you before as I've also told you in time past that they which do things such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

You see that works of the flesh. If your if your flesh is in control of the inside of you, then when circumstances shake you up and provoke you, what's going to come out of you? It's going to come out the works of flesh. It's going to explode. In other words, in James 1 19 and 20, it says, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man workketh not the righteousness of God." You see, when we allow the wrath of man, what's inside of us, the works of the flesh to come out, when we get provoked, we just make a big mess, don't we?

When my wife was a young girl, they lived in Minnesota and uh they would make their own root beer. You ever you know you could do that? You ever tried doing that? They would make their own root beer and they would mix it all up. Then you had to put it in a warm place in order to get that that fizz in there and everything. So they put it up on top of the refrigerator and they had a couple of bottles of root beer, quart bottle size and and they were all working up to get to be root beer and everything. And they went out one day and came home later in the day and one of those bottles had exploded.

And I mean there was a mess everywhere in the kitchen. There was root beer all over everything down beside inside. They they were finding the root beer weeks later after they cleaned up. It just made a total mess. And that's what the Bible's talking about. When we're easily provoked, what happens is what comes out of us. If it's the wrath of man, if it's the works of the flesh is in control, when we get shook up like that bottle of soda, we're just going to make a mess everywhere when when we let it out. And and so the Bible tells us that the wrath of man workketh not the righteousness of God. You see, we need to be careful that we're not that kind of person.

Everybody's waiting for us to explode. You know, you ever had a a a bottle of soda or something like that and you dropped it or something happened and you're kind of like, should I open it? Should I not open it? Is it going to explode? And and some of you, that's the way people around you live. They live like they're living next to a volcano that can blow up at any time. and and they're just kind of waiting for you to explode from from little some kind of provocation, something they do, something they say, and then all of a sudden, boom, you explode with the works of the flesh, with that that wrath of man.

And that's not the way people like to live. You see, you got to deal with it inside. In Acts chapter 15 and verse 39, the Bible says, "And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed a sunder one from another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed into Cyprus." The word contention, the word sharp, the contention was so sharp. They're the same words. And it comes from the same word as the word wrath that we read about in James chapter 1. And and they're all related. The words all come from this idea of acid eaten away on the inside of you. And that's what it is. You know that soda.

You ever seen the the video online where they show the they they put a nail into the soda and the nail dissolves? Anybody ever seen that one? I did look it up and it's not true. Uh it's amazing. You can't believe everything you read online, but uh it's not true there. But you know, uh when you allow the flesh to take control inside of you, it just eats away inside of you until you explode and make a mess everywhere. And that's what we need to be careful. By the way, I did find another video about a Sunday school teacher that brought to her Sunday school class a glass of water and a glass of alcohol.

And she dropped a worm in each of the glasses. And the worm in the water lived. And the worm in the alcohol died. And she asked her class, "Well, what does this teach us?" And one little boy raised his hand and says, "If you don't want worms, drink alcohol." Uh, didn't quite get the right lesson across there in that way. But you know what we do is we let things provoke us and we let them like acid eat away. That contention was so sharp it ate away at the relationship. Uh Barnabas and Paul were best of friends. They were co-workers and yet they allowed a situation to eat away at their relationship instead of dealing with the way God would have them to deal with it.

You see, if you're filled with the flesh, when you get provoked, you're going to explode and make a mess. But if you're filled with the spirit, what comes out? The fruit of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there's no law. These are the things that come out of us. You see that bottle fruit juice, if you shake up a bottle of fruit juice, it doesn't explode. It just gets better. The more you shake it up, the better it gets. And and and that's that's the difference is what's on the inside. Some of you remember I wrote the book fruit of the spirit and I've preached on that before and when I first read that said the fruit of the spirit is that's singular.

Then they go on and list nine different fruits multiple. So why doesn't it say the fruits of the spirit are and I found that out in the grocery store when I walked down the fruit juice aisle I saw that there were fruit juices that uh had more than one fruit like we're here in Hawaii. were familiar with Pog, P, passion, orange, guava, and and and and so they have three different fruits in there, but they still called it fruit juice, singular, because what they done is taken three different fruits and blended them together to make a very unique flavor. And that's what God wants to do in your life and my life.

God wants to take the fruits of the spirit and blend them in your life to create a unique flavor of God. You know, even when you have more than one fruit, there's different flavors. You go down to the store, you can buy four different brands of Pog, passion orange guava, and each of them will taste a little bit different. Some will have a little bit more of a passion taste. Some will have a little more of an orange flavor to it. Some will have more of the guava flavor. And and that every Christian has a unique flavor of God. Some have a little bit more of the love. Some have a little bit more of that joy or peace.

And and each of us, God wants to create a unique flavor of the Holy Spirit. You know, when I went out the store and bought that bottle of fruit juice, one of the things I noticed is on the front of the bottle, it says this. It says not, it says real fruit juice. Real fruit juice. And then you turn over in the back of the bottle and there's a little box there. It says not less than 10% fruit juice. I looked at that. I said, "Wait a minute. That does that's not right." But you know, a lot of Christians are that same way. A lot of Christians on the outside, I'm a real Christian, but they need a little tag.

Says not at least 10% of the time. Turn over to Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1 and look at verses 10 and 11. Philippians chapter 1 and:es 10 and 11. In Philippians chapter 1 verse number 10 says that you may approve things that are excellent that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ on the glory and the praise of God. You see God wants us to be 100% real Christians 100% of the time. And for a lot of Christians that's not true. We're not real Christians. Letting the Holy Spirit control us.

Being sincere and pure in the spirit of God. By the way, you can't have the fruit of the spirit unless you have the spirit. You need the spirit of God to have the fruit of the spirit of God. And and in 1 John 5:es 12 and 13, the Bible says, "He that hath the son hath life. He that hath not the son of God hath not life." These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the son of God that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may believe on the name of the son of God. If you want to produce the fruit of the spirit, you've got to have the spirit of God. You can't get fruit tree from a tree that's not real.

And and you can't get the fruit of the spirit without having the spirit of God. You you know a lot of people what they try to do is they they produce try to produce artificial fruit. You know, being a trying to be a Christian without Jesus Christ is like hanging fruit uh artificial fruit on a tree, it doesn't make it a fruit tree. The Bible says in Titus 3:5, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the regeneration by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." You see, God does, we're not saved by the good works that we produce.

But if we're truly saved, we're going to produce those good works. A tree is not a fruit tree because you hang fruit on it. A tree is a fruit tree. If it's if it is a fruit tree, it's going to produce fruit. And and that's the order we need to get in. Ephesians 2:8:9, for by grace are you saved through faith. Then not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But then verse 10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God had before ordained that we should walk in them." You see, God said, "I saved you to produce good works.

I I'm not saving you because of your works." So, you have to have the spirit of God. You have to have the faith in him. Turn over to Colossians chapter 1, the next book after Philippians. Colossians chapter 1 and look at verses 4-6. Colossians 1 verse number four says, "Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love which you have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. Wherefore you heard before in the word of truth of the gospel, which has come unto you as if is is in all the world, and bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in you, since you the day you heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth."

See, the reason you have fruit is because you heard the gospel that Jesus died and was buried and rose again. He died to save you from your sins. And you trusted in that gospel. You called upon him. And now because you have Jesus Christ, you have the spirit of God. Now you can produce the works, the the the fruit of the spirit. But without the spirit, you can produce artificial fruit, but not the real thing. So if you're going to have fruit, you've got to have the spirit. And if you don't have Jesus Christ, you don't have the spirit of God. You don't have eternal life. So you need the spirit of God.

Now to go over to James chapter 1. James chapter 1 and look at verses 2-6. James chapter 1 and beginning with verse number two. James chapter 1 and verses 2-6. My brother, count all joy when you fall in diverse temptations. Knowing this is to try your faith work with patience. But let patience have a perfect work that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God to give it to all men liberally and have breathe not and it should be given him. But let him ask in faith need nothing wavering. For he that waivers like the wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

See, here's what he's trying to say is is life is going to shake you up. is whether it's your spouse or your children or your co-workers or circumstances, life is going to shake you up. And the difference is what's on the inside. When God allows us to get shook up, when he allows something in our life that shakes us up, he's showing us this is what's on the inside of you. If the works of the flesh, anger, and bitterness and all the rest that come out, then you're fil you're then the flesh is in control. But if the fruit of the spirit comes out, then the spirit is in control. When the Bible says that love is not easily provoked, it's the difference is what's on the inside of you.

Don't blame that other person. Well, they make me so mad. They get me so upset. You know, they just know how to push my buttons. No, all they're doing is being used of God to show you what's on the inside of you. It's not about them. It's about you. What is beside me? In Galatians chapter 5 266, it says, "Let us not be desirs of gle g vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another." You see, we don't we don't want to shake it up. You know, my goal is when I get a bottle of soda, I don't want to go around like, "Yeah, I'm going to have some soda now." You know, you don't want to shake it up.

That's the goal in our relationships with our marriage, our family, or wherever it is. We want to try to have peace. We don't want to try to provoke that other person. In Matthew 5:es 21-23, it says, "If you heard it, heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Racka," shall be in danger of the counsel. But whosoever shall say, "Thou fool," shall be in danger of fi hellfire.

Who shall be angry with his brother without cause? Now, a lot of people look at, well, I got a cause. You don't know my spouse. You don't know my kids. You don't know my coworker. You don't know my boss at work. I've got a cause to be angry. You know, the problem is I have found in my dealing with people that most of the time when they're angry, whether it's a husband or wife or whether it's co-workers or friends or whatever, it's like really that's what you're going to get mad about. We get provoked so easily. And most often our problems with others is really our chip on the shoulder and and and our attitude and our looking for something wrong.

And you know what? Get over it. When the Bible says love is not easily provoked, it means that hey, don't get mad at every little thing that comes up. Well, this isn't so little. Uh I'd beg to differ. A lot of times I sit with couples say, why are you arguing over this? you've got so much good and you've decided to focus on this problem. And yeah, they may seem big, but don't make it a big deal. Don't blow it up more than it is. And a lot of our problems with other people, it's really not their problem. It's our problem. Get rid of the attitude. Get rid of the chip on the shoulder. Get just get over it.

It's not worth being angry. It's not worth the bitterness. It It's not worth losing a friend. And we got to learn to get over it. But you know, when there is a problem, when you do get provoked and something happens, how do you deal with it? What what settles you down? Now, you all know the commercial relates, you know, settles you down. But that's not what I'm talking about. Proverbs 25:28, he says, "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down without walls." So the job is I've got to control. I can't control the other person, but I've got to control me and what's going on inside of me.

And so, how do I deal with it? How do you settle down? You know, have you ever heard tips how to settle down a soda when it gets all shook up? What are some of the things you're supposed to do when you soda gets shook up before you open it? How can you settle it down? What's some of the things you've heard? Tapping it on top. You know that one? It doesn't work, but you can try it. or uh open it slowly. You know what that does? It means I slowly get covered with soda instead of fastly get covered soda. And here's the one I love the most. I've heard people say this. Turn it upside down before you open it.

Stop and think about that. You know, uh now these may or may not work, but what about you? What what settles you down when you get angry? What have you've heard things like, well, count to 10, right? Or in my case, count to 100. No, a thousand. Uh, I'm up to 10,567, I think, or something like that. It it it may work, but or here's another one. Bite your tongue. I got a scar right here from biting my tongue too many times. Or here's another one. Take a walk, cool off. Take a cold shower, cool off. Now, they may help, but in the long run, that's not what works. You know what works? When you're provoked by somebody and you're upset with them, Psalms 119 verse 165 says, "Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them."

You know what'll work? When you're mad at somebody, get your Bible out and start reading. Because if you're offended, you're not loving the law. And if you're loving the law, you're not going to be offended. There's no other way you can read that Bible verse, folks. And so maybe you're not in the word of God enough. And maybe if you're offended, you get into the Bible and start reading till you get unoffended. Here's something else you can do. Matthew 5:es 43 and 44. You've heard that it been said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy." But I say unto you, "Love your enemies, bless them to curse you, do good for them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.

You praying for that person that's made you so mad, pray for them more. You can talk about me all you please. I'll talk about you down on my knees." And that helps settle it down. I tell you what, when I'm praying for somebody, it's hard to be mad at them. It is or fellowship. It's hard to be mad at people you spend time with and know. Here's the problem. I'm mad at you. I'm avoiding you. And the more we avoid them and walk away from them, separate from them, what do you do? We get more mad. So the person you're mad to, what's what's the old saying? Keep your enemies close, your you know, keep your friends close and keep your enemies even closer.

Don't avoid them. The Bible says in Psalms 122:1, I was glad when they said unto me, let's go to the house of the Lord. Verse 9, because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. But we walk in the church and here's that guy that provokes me and I go the other way. That's not Bible. Psalms 55 12 and 14, David talked about how he had sweet fellowship with his friend and and now this person was had become almost an enemy and he missed that fellowship and and that sweet fellowship is so important. Hebrews chap 10:es 23-2 listen to what it says. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he's faithful that promise.

And let us consider one another, provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another in so much the more is the day approaching. You see, I need that person if I'm going to stay faithful in my profession of faith, if I'm going to stay not waver, I need to be with other Christians. And what happens? we get mad and we stop going to church or we we stop talking to that person and we we avoid them and that's not going to solve the problem. kindness. Luke 6:35. But love your enemies and do good and lend for help hope helping for nothing again and your reward shall be great.

You should be the children of the highest for he's kind of on the unthankful evil. Why should I be kind to them because that's what God tells you to do cuz God was kind to you. Somebody's provoking you, show them more kindness. Do something useful for them. Like we talked about before, it's hard to be mad at somebody you're trying to be nice to, time. You know, the one benefit of counting to 10 or 100 or a thousand, it gives you time. The benefit of taking a walk, it gives you time. And sometimes, folks, when you shake up a bottle of soda, there's nothing that's going to work except just to let it sit and leave it alone and give it time.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:9, "Do not be hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger restth in the bosom of fools." In Proverbs 16:32, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." Proverbs 19:11 says, "The discretion of a man defers his anger and his glory to pass over a transgression." And you know what that means to discretion to defer your angry? It means get over it and get on with your life. We get mad at somebody what we do. We just kind of that our whole life becomes focused on that and and that dominates everything and everywhere we turn that problem is there and just get over and get on with your life.

Ephesians chapter 4, turn over there if you would with me please. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse number two. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse number two. The Bible says, "With all loneliness and meekness, with long suffering for bearing one another in love." You know what longsuffering means? Patience. Time. Ah, we got to fix this now. No, sometimes give it time. Now, not too much time. In Matthew 5:es 23 and 24, therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remembers that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

And by the way, it's reversed. Whether your brother have ought against you or you have ought against your brother, he said, leave your gift and go solve it. Don't don't give it too much time. Time doesn't solve all problems. Going and talking about it and working it through. We handed out a paper about um about you how to reconcile and and and sometimes you just got to go take and bite the bullet and work out this problem. Talk about it. It's not fair to let it build up inside of you and the other person doesn't even know there's something wrong. And I see this so often, especially my marriage counseling.

Some wife is just bursting with anger and her husband didn't even know what he done. And you got to you got to deal with it. In Ephesians 4:es 26 and 27, it says, "Be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil." It's not the anger that's wrong. It's letting the anger take control. God gave us our emotions. They're a gift of God. But when we let our emotions take control of our actions, that's not right. You see, Jesus, he cleansed the temple. Let me encourage you. Next time you get mad at somebody, instead of pointing your anger at them, point your anger at the temple.

And where is the temple? Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-1 17, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." If you're allowing anger in God's temple, do you think God's happy with that? Cleanse it out. Get it right. Here's a good question to ask yourself. Did my anger make the situation better or made it worse? my letting anger take control. My angry response, whatever I did, I yelled at them, I told them off, I I I avoided them or whatever. Is that making it better or worse?

If it's making it worse, it's not of God. Bible says in Matthew 18:15, "Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, and go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone, if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." And if your anger, your hurt does not cause you to go gain your brother. I'm just going to avoid them and quit on them. I'm not going to have anything to do with them. That's not of God. Love is not easily provoked. And when you get provoked with somebody, I realize people do stupid things and they hurt you and all the rest of it, but when you get provoked, it's the outside circumstances are not where why you get upset.

It's what's inside. It's what's inside that makes the difference. And that's where we have to focus. So what happens so often, you know, what happens if you drink too much soda too quickly? It's going to come back out in a belch. In fact, I thought we'd have a little contest up here. I've got a Coke and a Mountain Dew. So, I'm going to have a couple of you guys come up here and have and maybe some of you girls, too, like Faith come up here and and uh No, I'm not going to make you do that. But uh what happens is that that comes out. Listen to what the what the Bible says here in Matthew 15:1 16.

And Jesus said, "Are you also yet without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatsoever enterth in at the mouth go into the belly and is cast out into the draw? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands defileth not a man. We get mad at somebody. What do we do? We gossip about him. We complain about him. We say bad things about him. Where's that coming from?

Our heart. And that tells me my heart's not right with God. You see, that's the problem. And anytime I speak it out, I give it life. Breath gives life. When I put a voice to it, I give it life. Whether it's out of my mouth or speaking it out in my head, we can't do that. So, what shakes you up? What what provokes you? What gets you? And how do you settle down? But what stirs you up? In Acts 17:16, it said, "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given to adultery." That word stirred is the same word as provoke, but it's used in the opposite way.

He was stirred because he saw all these people are unsaved and living in in adultery in a world. When's the last time you were stirred in your heart looking out the world around us? You know, nobody likes a soda's gone flat when it sat out too long and all the fizz is gone. But a lot of Christians have become flat. They no longer get stirred. They're no longer burdened for lost souls. They're no longer burdened for the world and where the world is heading. We need to be fervent in spirit. Romans 12:1, not slothful business. Fervent spirit serving the Lord is your where is your ferveny? Where is your excitement?

Where is your zeal for God? In 1 Peter 4:8, above all things, have fervent charity or love among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. You see, some of you have been listening to me thinking, "Yeah, pastor, but you don't know what this person did." Love covers the multitude of sins. It doesn't explode. When you're in the spirit and fervent in the spirit, you want to work out those problems because you want to have a good relationships around you. You need to get fervent about your relationships. In James 5:16, confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that you may be healed.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avail much. Go to 2 Corinthians chapter 7. 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verses 10- 11. as sorrowful yet. Oh, I'm sorry. Chapter 7, I'm read chapter six. Chapter 7 verse 11. For godly sorrow workketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world workketh death. For behold the selfsame thing that you sorrowed after a godly sort. What carefulness it wrought in you. Yay, what clearing of yourselves. Yay, what indignation. Yay, what z fear. Yay, what veminant desire. Yay, what zeal? Yay, what revenge. In all things you have proved yourself to be clear in this matter.

So when I realize I'm not handling this the way God wants me to and you become fervent say I got to repent the way I've acted towards that person. Sure they treated me wrong. They did wrong to me but this is not how I should act towards them. Fervent repentance is what we need. Don't be a watered down Christian. And you ever gone to McDonald's or some place like they bought a soda and what do they do? They load it up with ice all the way to the top before they put your soda in there. I always tell them be light on the ice because I'm paying for the soda, not the water, the melted water. And I hate it when I have a soda and I I have it for a little while, you know, later I go take a drink and by then all the ice is melted and watered down the soda.

Bible says in Revelation 3 15- 16, I know thy works that thou are neither cold nor hot. I would thou were cold or hot. So then because thou are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. You know folks, I have found that when a Christian is mad at somebody and angry at them and bitter at them that they become watered down. You can't be fervent in spirit and have anger and bitterness and wrath filling your cup. And you got to see that. And God says, I don't want you to be that watered down Christian. In Ephesians 5:18 says, "Be not drunk with wine. Where's next, but be filled with the spirit."

If I'm going to buy a soda, I got like to go a place that I can keep going back and refilling it. I want a bottomless cup. And God wants, he's given us a bottomless cup of the spirit. You see, pastor, you don't understand. My wife, she just keeps pushing that button again and again and again. My husband, my kids, that's why God gave you the Holy Spirit because it's a bottomless cup. He's there. The problem is how we see ourselves. If you were to go to McDonald's after church today and stop and get a soda, if they only filled the cup halfway, what would your attitude be? If you're an optimist, you might say, "Well, it's half full."

If you're a pessimist, you might say, "It's half empty." If you're a realist, you say, "I paid for a full cup. I want a full cup." But you know what we do with God is we see ourselves, "Well, I'm half full." And God says, "No, you're half empty." We see ourselves wrong. God says you're half empty. You're not half full. 1 Corinthians 6:19 to20. What know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which you have of God and you're not your own? For you're bought with a price. Therefore glorify God and your body and your spirit which are his. And God says, I want you to be full of the spirit.

I want you to be full of ferveny. I don't want you to let any of that anger and bitterness take up my space. I want to fill every space. So ask God to fill your cup. In Psalms 23:5, thou preparest the table before me and presence my enemies. Thou anoint my head with oil. My cup runth over. Say, God, would you fill my cup? But before God will fill your cup, you got to empty out that anger, that bitterness. You got to dump all that out so he can fill your cup with the pure spirit of God. Fill it in the way it ought to be. And that's the challenge. Love is not easily provoked. Everybody gets provoked.

It's just part of life. People are going to say and do things, even the ones you love the most. And most of the time, honestly, just get over it. Get on with your life. it happened. The bigger deal you make out it, the worse it becomes. And just say, you know what? I'm just going to love this person. I'm going to pray for them. I'm going to be kind to them. And if you can't do that, then go talk to them and resolve it and work it out. Don't go talk to everybody else around you. Love is not easily provoked. But when you get provoked, watch your reaction. If it's explosion happens, anger, bitterness, tears, whatever, then maybe it's because what's in control is the flesh, not the spirit.

And maybe you need to take some time and say, I want to be controlled by the spirit. So, I'm going to read the word of God. I'm going to pray for that person. I'm going to be kind to them. I'm going to go out of my way to say hi to them instead of avoiding them. That's what we ought to do. And then says, "Lord, I don't want to be half full. I want to be full of your spirit." Let's bow prayer.