00:00Hello everyone, my name is William Chambers. It is good to be here with you all to look into the
00:05Word of God.
00:07The wind is blowing, but this message is so good that I gotta keep going.
00:11If I had a title for today's message, I would call it, Bitterness is Destroying More Than You Think.
00:19In many old communities, if a well became poisoned, the entire village suffered because everyone drank from the same source.
00:32Back in the day when they had wells, everybody drank from the same source, and if that source was poisoned,
00:38everybody got sick, everybody got affected.
00:41Bitterness works the same way spiritually. One poisoned heart can affect or affect an entire home, an entire church, an
00:53entire relationship.
00:56Our text today teaches us that bitterness never stays contained, but it spreads.
01:04Bitterness reproduces itself. Oh no, help us today.
01:09So, we're looking at the text and it says,
01:12Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you,
01:19and thereby many be defiled.
01:23This text is calling us to vigilance in the Christian life.
01:28It says we are to be looking diligently at our lives.
01:32The Christian life requires spiritual watchfulness.
01:35We are to be constantly guarding our hearts and carefully paying attention to the conditions of our heart.
01:43Oh, Lord, help us today.
01:45Spiritual responsibility is being talked about right now.
01:49Many people that have become bitter began either by becoming wounded by somebody, discouraged by somebody, offended by somebody, or
01:59disappointed by somebody.
02:00And instead of bringing these wounds to God, they allow them to remain buried inside themselves.
02:08They let these wounds be neglected.
02:11All because we're supposed to carry our wounds unto God.
02:16Neglected wounds become infected wounds.
02:19Just like if you leave a bad wound on your body unattended to, it can become infected.
02:27Well, we can become infected.
02:29We don't bring things to God.
02:30The great physician.
02:32And we can become infected with bitterness.
02:35So, it says,
02:35Lest any man fill up the grace of God.
02:37Meaning that sometimes we neglect the graces of God.
02:41Sometimes we fail the graces of God.
02:43But sometimes we just resist the graces of God.
02:46And what I mean by that is we resist walking in the health and strength that God provides.
02:51He provides strength against bitterness.
02:54What kind of strength am I talking about?
02:56Well, God gave us the ability to forgive.
02:59He gave us the ability to walk in humility.
03:02He gave us the ability to walk in reconciliation.
03:06He gives us the ability to walk in prayer.
03:10Pray for one another.
03:11When these graces that God gives us is neglected, our fleshly reactions begin to grow.
03:19Our hurts start becoming resentments.
03:23Our disappointments start becoming hardnesses of heart.
03:27And offenses and bitterness start to take root in our hearts.
03:33There are hidden dangers to bitterness.
03:36It said,
03:36Lest any root of bitterness spring up.
03:40Bitterness can spring up in your heart unaware.
03:44Bitterness often springs up when betrayal, injustice, rejection, offenses, envy, disappointment becomes bitterness when they're unsubmitted unto God.
03:54Lord, I need you to take this from me.
03:56Help me deal with this.
03:57Help me, Lord, to forgive this person.
03:59Lord, help me not to hold a grudge here.
04:01Oh, we are to take these to God.
04:04Again, he's a great physician.
04:06Bitterness is so dangerous to us because it has the ability to change our perception.
04:10Bitter people often begin to interpret everything through their pain, through their injury, through what was done unto them.
04:19Oh, Lord.
04:20And then they become cold.
04:22Then they become suspicious.
04:24They become cold and critical.
04:26Looking at you with a side eye because bitterness is beginning to take root in their heart.
04:31They become divisive.
04:33You don't want to talk to that person.
04:34Quit talking to that person.
04:35That person ain't no good.
04:37They become unforgiving and cynical.
04:40This is what bitterness does to us.
04:42What stays buried inside eventually surfaces outward.
04:46It stays buried in there.
04:48It stays buried inside of you.
04:51It wasn't taking nothing to God.
04:52Pain stays buried inside of you.
04:54Betrayal stays buried inside of you.
04:55You didn't take it to God.
04:57And it stays buried inward.
04:59And eventually it starts to see outward.
05:02Oh, have mercy on us.
05:05When things are not surrendered to God, they begin to take root in our very soul.
05:10Bitterness starts to reveal itself through harsh words.
05:14Through constant negativity.
05:16Through division and gossip.
05:19You talking about them because you don't like them.
05:21Bitterness shows itself up in rebellion.
05:24In coldness.
05:25In joylessness.
05:27You're not joyful because you're bitter.
05:29You're hateful because you're bitter.
05:31Oh, help me.
05:32Have mercy on me.
05:33Now let's talk about the contamination of bitterness.
05:37Bitterness is never isolated.
05:39It spreads.
05:40One bitter heart can poison an entire environment.
05:45Families become tense.
05:48Churches become divided.
05:51Friendships become strained.
05:53All because of the poison of a bitter spirit.
05:58We all know this to be true.
06:00Bitterness spreads through conversation.
06:03Through our conversations.
06:04Through our attitudes.
06:06Through our influence.
06:07Through our atmosphere.
06:09It just spreads.
06:10A bitter person often recruits others to their wounds.
06:13You're recruiting other people.
06:15You hate somebody.
06:16So you're trying to make somebody else hate somebody.
06:19Help me.
06:19Have mercy.
06:21So the Bible says,
06:22Let any root of bitterness spring up, trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.
06:28Many are defiled.
06:31Defiled means polluted.
06:33Contaminated.
06:34Have you ever been defiled by a bitter person against somebody else?
06:39Have you ever defiled somebody else against somebody else because you didn't like that person?
06:46Have mercy on us the gate.
06:49Bitterness stains our spiritual clarity.
06:53Bitterness contaminates and damages our words.
06:56It contaminates our words, our thoughts, our perceptions.
06:59It damages unity.
07:01It spreads discouragement.
07:03Help me.
07:05Bitterness weakens love.
07:08Hard to love because you're so bitter.
07:10Help today.
07:11It damages worship and prayer.
07:14It damages our fellowship with one another and with God.
07:17It damages our worship and discernment.
07:21Help us, God.
07:22Bitterness touches so much.
07:24We should be like, Lord, I don't want to be bitter.
07:26Lord, I don't want this to contaminate my heart.
07:30Only the graces of God can uproot bitterness.
07:34Meaning the forgiveness of God.
07:36The constant praying for one another.
07:38Praying for your enemies.
07:40The continual reconciliation and humbling ourselves before God.
07:45And continually bringing ourselves before God.
07:47These are the graces that can uproot bitterness.
07:50This passage that I'm reading calls believers to quickly deal with our offenses.
07:55Quickly.
07:56Hurry up.
07:56Don't let that thing sit.
07:58Through grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, humility.
08:01Before bitterness grows deep enough to affect many.
08:05Our text today is warning about our offenses remaining in our hearts too long without taking them to God.
08:15The root of bitterness is destroying more than you think.
08:19Lord, have mercy on us.
08:21Lord, help me and help us all hear this message through the wind and the noise.
08:26In Jesus' name I pray.
08:27Help us to bring our offenses to you so they don't become bitterness.
08:30In Jesus' name I pray and say.
08:32Amen.
08:35Amen.
08:36Amen.
08:37Amen.
08:49Amen.
