Title : " Harnessing the Power of Negative Emotions "

Text : Psalm 77:2-3 ; I Samuel 11:1-15 ; Proverbs 25:28 ;

Galatians 5:22-23 ; Deuteronomy 28:13 ; &

Ephesians 4:26-27

INTRO :

1. I Want to Talk to You Today on the Subject of "Harnessing the Power of Negative Emotions," and Learning to Make them Work For You Instead of Leaving You Overwhelmed and Defeated.

2. Emotions are Very Powerful and Can Be Our Servants OR Our Masters : Especially the Negative Emotions.

3. It is Up to US to Decide Whether We are Going to Be Head or the Tail , the Master or the Servant of Our Emotions.

Deuteronomy 28:13 & Galatians 5:22-23

I. When We Focus Our Attention and Dwell On Our Troubles We Can Be Overcome By Our Negative Emotions.

Psalm 77:2-3

II. Negative Emotions Aren't Necessarily Bad Things.

I Samuel 11:6 & Mark 3:1-5

III. We Must Learn to Take Control of Our Negative Emotions By the Holy Spirit and the Choice of Our Will.

Galatians 5:22-23 ; Psalm 34:1 ; & Psalm 77:1-12

A. Emotions Should Not be the Deciding Factors Behind the Actions We Take in Life.

B. Often Times Our Emotions Can Lead Us to Taking Actions that are Not in Our Best Interests in the Long Run.

Ephesians 4:26

C. If We Require Positive Emotional Feelings to Empower Us to Take Action to Do What is Right, We Will Find Ourselves Powerless Much of the Time.

D. Negative Emotions Can Be Harnessed and Used to Empower Us Through the Holy Spirit to Take Positive Actions that Will Ultimately Serve Our Best Interests and Accomplish the Will of God in Our Life.

I Samuel 11:6

IV. How to Harness the Power of Negative Emotions or Feelings

A. First, Let Us Define Our Terms by Considering Some Examples.

1. Fear

2. Anger - Hatred

3. Guilt - Shame

4. Envy - Jealousy

5. Worry - Anxiety

6. Frustration - Irritation - Impatience

7. Loneliness

8. Depression

B. Secondly, Let Us Consider What they Are By Nature : Human Feelings that are the Natural Response to Certain Stimuli .

1. A Guy Cuts Me Off in Heavy Traffic is the Stimulus (or the Cause), and My Natural Response is a Feeling of Fear & Probably Anger.

2. I'm in a Hurry to Get Somewhere, and There's Some "Sunday Driver" Going About 45 in a 65 Mile an Hour Speed Zone, so My Natural response is Frustration , Impatience, and Probably Anger.

C. The Root Cause or Source of the Sitmulus that Negative Emotions are Responding to

1. Social Stimulus

2. Material Stimulus

3. Physical Stimulus

4. Mental Stimulus

5. Spiritual Stimulus

D. The Feelings or Emotions Themselves are Often Merely a Response that We Have to Unpleasant, Unjust, or Unsafe Circumstances that We Cannot Control or Avoid.

E. In Case of Worry and Anxiety these Feelings or Emotions are the Response to a Possible Future Circumstance with the Same Characteristics.

F. Negative Emotions Can Be Used By the Devil in Three Specific Ways .

1. To Get Us to Fight About Almost Anything

2. To Get Us to Flee From Almost Everything

3. To Exhaust Us to the Point of Doing Nothing

G. The Christian Needs to Learn to Harness the Power of Negative Emotions in Order to Do the Right Thing.

H. A Strategy to Accomplish Our Purpose

1. Acknowledge the Feeling of the Emotion and Confess it To the Lord.

2. Examine the Circumstance to Discern the Stimulus.

3. Bring the Stimulus and response Before the Lord in a Prayer for Grace to Deal Righteously with Your Circumstance.

4. Trust the Lord Will Hear and Help You.

5. Turn Your Focus Away from the Stimulus & Toward the Righteous Path and Use the Power OF those Feelings & Emotions to Accomplish Great Things for God in Your Life.