The Blight of Bitterness

Listen closely, as Adrian Rogers addresses how bitterness can take its toll on your life is a terrible, horrible, hurtful medicine $there are many Christian there are many better as we think about the light of this to Ludwig finding timeless messages of pastor. Author Adrian Rogers as we just heard. Bitterness is a terrible problem blows the joy out of our lives and leaves our souls and dark it often manifests itself in people was hostility and faultfinding. Sometimes it can look like self-pity or an aloof, disinterested spirit. The Bible shows how to uprooted before it takes its full effect. If you have your Bible turn to Hebrews chapter 12 will begin in verse 14. As Adrian Rogers explains the blight of bitterness, hollow case with all man and without which no man shall see the Lord. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled message this morning is light bitterness. I would explain.

Just a moment what bitterness is, but I think most of us already know what bitterness is because we have been around better people are. Maybe we are a better person.

Often a better person is a person who is hostile. A person who is costing a person who is critical person who is loaded with resentment and finding a person who is angry those are all frequently bitterly but sometimes the bitterness doesn't show itself.

That way sometimes the bitterness shows itself by being a crybaby type of person morose sad full of self-pity, melancholy, many times these people when you pull the veil by I really just bitterly sometimes it shows itself in a person who is cool, aloof. This interesting, not just but inside they are a ceiling volcano bitterness now is a terrible, horrible, hurtful, hellish problem light bitterness and the Bible warns us about the first thing I want you to see as we look at our text this morning is what I'm going to call the root of bitterness the root of bitterness. Now look at it in verse 15. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. What is the root of bitterness and how does this route find lodging in our hearts and lives well.

A person is a person generally who has been hurt. Something is happening to life is not worked out as they should work out someone is hurt and maybe that one they perceive to be God himself. God society why they are better at specific individuals why this bitterness.

Well, these people have been hurt and that her turns to anger and hostility. Now we've all been hurt is not a lot of us here that has not suffered some kind of her. And when we are hurt our natural inclination is to react with anger is not to react with resentment, a desire to get even a desire to hurt no one that is hurt us all in a better person is hurt. He doesn't deal with his bitterness but he takes it into his heart. He begins to dwell on. He begins to mull it over and over again and then in order to justify this feeling that he has in his heart problems to justify this feeling of bitterness. If somebody hurts him. He begins to watch that person to see if you can find other calls and that individual and he becomes a very negative person and he looks for all faults and flaws that he could find in that other person and when he looks for them, he will certainly find because we all have flaws and will have full something else about a better person, a caustic Christian base. Our site they have a way of bringing out bitterness in other people, you know, a very clever many of them a better person because he becomes a student of of this sort of thing. He knows where your emotional hot button is and he knows how to push that button and to get out of you the response that he wants a better person really wants to get under your skin to see if he can get you react with hostility to him and when he can, but when she can. That only confirms the bitterness that they already had it only pushes that down deeper into their subconsciousness and gives him a right to justify that bitterness. Anna Russell wrote these words. I enjoy them. She said I went to my psychiatrist to be psychoanalyze to find out why I killed my cat and blacken my wife's eyes. He put me on a down accounts to see what he could find, and this is what he dredged up from my subconscious mind when I was one. My mommy and my Ali in the trunk and so it follows naturally that I'm always drunk when I was to I saw my father just made one day. That's why I suffer now from kleptomania when I was three I suffered ambivalence from my brothers and so it follows naturally that I poisoned all my lovers.

I am so glad I have learned the lesson.

It has taught that everything I do, that you all is someone else's fault and and this is a way the better person feels he feels absolutely justified in his bitterness and so he is a negative person looking for faults to reconfirm this feeling of hostility and pity that he feels in his own heart and in his own life and so the root of bitterness grows in the soil of a herd that has not been properly dealt with second I want you to notice not only the root of bitterness. But I want you to notice the fruit of bitterness.

Look again in verse 15 the Bible says will be looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness and I want to celebrate because every room has fruit springing trouble you and thereby many be defiled, that you're going to find out that first of all, when you're better is going to hurt you. First is going to hurt you is going to trouble you.

But not only is he going to trouble you. Bitterness will have a contagion about many are going to be defiled and so first of all there is personal trouble and then there is social trouble that comes from bitterness, but first of all personal trouble.

The Bible says that this root of bitterness will trouble you, and I'm not saying that every sick person is better but I'm saying that every better person will eventually if he doesn't deal with bitterness will be sicker than he ought to be.

Pay attention.

There is the physical consequences.

There is physical from the Bible says in front of you. But not only that a physical problem that emotional, psychological trouble when you let somebody make you angry when you didn't better toward somebody you become their slaying you become the slave of the person with whom you're angry now.

To the degree that you will resentment toward anyone to that same degree you are that one's slaying there will be physical problem market value. Emotional trouble market down. There will be spiritual trouble market down the verse before I verse verse 14 says follow peace with all, and holiness without which no man will see the Lord. You can have helplessness in your heart and holiness in your heart the same time.

You just can't do and so he mentions peace with man and holiness in the same sentence and then tells us not to be better so pay attention, dear friend. There is going to be that personal trouble but not only is there going to be that personal trouble is going to be that social defiled. He goes on to say, not only is it going to trouble you. But, he says, and many will be defiled. Bitterness sets off a chain reaction. I want to put your bookmark bear in Hebrews chapter 12. I want to return to Ephesians chapter 4. Here is a very very significant passage of Scripture. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 26 be angry and sin not.

But when does anger become sand, wellness, and let not the sun go down upon your wrath. That is when it becomes bitterness. What is it me, let not the sun go down upon your wrath upon your anger when you begin to live without anger when you nurse that anger feed that anger cherish that anger can you go to bed with it and you get up with it and you go to bed with her and you get up with the sun goes down upon your wrath then what you do you give place to the devil. Look in verse 27 neither give place to the devil. When you get angry and you sin and you refuse to believe that Santa becomes bitterness and bitterness in your life becomes the devils campground the devil's in the chair is the devils place is that I'll mess it was. Satan takes of lodging to warm the rest of your life and to trouble you, but now I want you to notice how how this this not only troubles you would how it begins to spread skip down to verse 31 patent. This is a very significant passage of Scripture. I want to look at it let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice back here I want you to notice how how this bitterness wears how it troubles others.

When you allowed to have a foothold and you will begin to trouble you look at it. First of all series images bitterness in verse 31 you will your uranium angry at God angry at your neighbors name Rachel live angry at your husband may parents get angry and you don't deal with you go to bed way you allow the sun go down upon your wrath. It becomes bitterness and that bitterness tends to wrath.

Look at images wrath next to the Greek word that is translated wrath has the idea of hotness internal heat know what happens is when you you get better you take it in. You do sort of a slow burn you just smolder romance. That's what wrath is a sadness. Were you ever feeling sure you have your normal. First of all is that bitterness that bitterness turns to wrath. I want to wrath turns to anger. That's the next thing you mentioned that anger is that which is outward.

Anger is explosive it comes to the surface and you to protect somebody jostled you and you just explode?

God is what got into the daily will ride smoldering in the closet for a long time. You just open the door and fed it with oxygen is all you.

And it still aflame and is that hostility and is out of proportion to the thing that seem to have caused the design and then wants clamor.

That's when the old tongue gets loose you get into a war of words that it says evil speaking, no longer is it clamor.

Is it just an argument now becomes name-calling you by the other person. You say things that you are not sure about that person and that evil speaking turns to the worst part of all mass which means I want to do you.

I won't hurt you.

High danger and refill malice. That's what the writer of Hebrews is talking about what he says you sent this you physically, emotionally, spiritually, not only will trouble you, many will be to file now third and final thing I will mention. I want you to see not only what I called the root of bitterness and not only the fruit of bitterness that I want you to see the pursuit of bitterness go back if you will to buy Hebrews chapter 12 and you see why I said the pursuit of bitterness look in verse 15 the Bible says we are to be looking diligently just underscore that. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you see I wrote is underground to seek it out. You have to pursue it. You have to search for now.

I could be that the Holy Spirit of God wants to do radical surgery on you this morning and give them DDDM reveal to you something about yourself and perhaps remember no never been willing to admit that was some of you it made all way back to childhood a bitterness you need to pursue it for three reasons. Number one, you need to pursue it to recognize when you recognize when you make a proper diagnosis. You got a big thing so many people never recognize anything. Maybe the last thing they would never say I am a better person.

They may hide the bitterness behind a mask, a breach of a deacon went golfing one day and the deacon set up which preacher you are the most evenhanded man I've ever seen. You always smile when I had my ball in the water hazard, in the golf in the sand in the rough.

When I make a bad shot of its license. The boy just shows all over me, but do you do the same thing that you just keep on smiling preacher said yeah I know it reset everywhere I spit the grass guys recognize recognize. Sometimes you can hide it with a façade when you live outwardly. A good life. But you have bitterness down beneath the surface that outward life is just your way of proving the lands while you strengthen the root and the more you prune the lambs, the more you strengthen the rogue had more of these outward things you do the same so doing the things that you give up. But if you don't deal erratically with that it's going to trouble you, and many are going to be to file.

You need to pursue it in order to recognize then you need to pursue it in order to remove the root it out is only one thing that is rooted and that is to forgive the person who is wounded, you are you certain pastor but let's get it from the word of God. I want to see what God's word says in Ephesians 4 verses 31 and 32.

Now we dealt with verse 31 that I want to listen to verse 32 now listen let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you. That is, remove it, with all malice highlight how you listen. Here's how you do it and the time, tenderhearted listener, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

Are you listening. The only way that you can remove it is to forgive only that person was or to you say that is not they desire. My wrath Toledo was valuable enough to punish them. Vengeance is mine, I will replace that the Lord today something else friend is going to hurt you more is going hurt them but I might tell you something you the model for this is God forgiving you. Is there anybody here who deserved to be forgiven when God forgave you. And on course and be there for time, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you the grace of God causes us to do this.

That's the reason the writer of Hebrews said, beware lest any of you failing on the grace of God in the root of bitterness spring up.

Think of God's grace.

You think like Jesus Christ has done for you and the race of God to you and on the basis of God's grace be fine, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. And when you do, God the Holy Spirit will route that is you say is going to be hard, it was hard and the person who deals with bitterness is done at the taste of Calvary, but it's worth by the set of Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, he suffered for the joy of forgiving us and we can suffer for the joy forgiving others. Mark Twain said that forgiveness is the fragrance on the heel that crushed a violent that's what this essay will when I forgiven was I going to deal with these memories know the memory will be there to be different.

Somebody put it this way, the hornet of remembering mayfly again, but the sting of bitterness has been removed.

All you will remember it psychologically, but the stain is gone because you Calvary's blood and human kind tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

Pursuant to recognize a Georgia pursuant to remove that you're not finished yet you want to pursue it to replace it is not without significance that Hebrews chapter 12 verse 14 says follow peace with all men: that is, is not just enough to get the bitterness out. We want to be right with our brother or sister. We want to be reconciled. Amen. Maybe somebody dear friend who was shot you but I want you to take God's will, and bring sake had done that to you my friend you listen to me beware lest it be a root's springing up trouble you in the files were powerful and Encouraging Word for each of us today.

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Do you feel the blight of bitterness. Deep down in your soul.

Remember these powerful words from Adrian Rogers. There may be somebody who is shut you out, but I want you to take God's love and bring him for Christ's sake. What is done for you will join us next time more profound truth. Simply stated, right on love worth buying. Adrian Rogers said if you woke up this morning and you're still here, God still has a plan for your life. We love that word and how dedicated pastor Rogers was about discipling and equipping believers for their Christian walk.

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