The Destructive Harvest of a Bitter Heart - Part B

See when your heart is better. God will not be really nuts because hatefulness and holiness cannot dwell in the same their exclusive. So instead of letting you see branch out of the system. You need to plant your life and better soil. Listen to Paul's words in Ephesians 3, being rooted and grounded in love, a Christian pastor once said bitterness imprisons life love releases today on connect with Skip Kaiser Skip shares how you can take your eyes off a bitter situation and focuses on Jesus instead. The first skiff wants to share about another way you can hear these encouraging vital messages catch my program connect with Skip Heitzig on the health song channel on Saturdays at 4:30 PM Mountain time or watch it on TBN on Sundays at 5:30 AM Eastern.

Remember to check your local list easy to feel weighed down by past failures and present mistakes but your struggles don't have to be the last word for you. Jesus came to redeem us from our past and through his work on the product you can have a new life.

That's the good news they want to share with you through this broadcast you can help share that life-changing truth with others through your gift to help keep these teachings on the air right now. Just call 892 1880 8F 892 1888.

Four. Connect with.com/donate connectwithskip.com/Downey thank you. Now we're in Hebrews chapter 12 as we dive into our study with Skip project so the picture in Hebrews chapter 12 is discouragement has planted a seed of hurt. The hurt is turned to anger the anger becomes resentment and eventually the resentment becomes bitterness.

According to Stephen Dimon, a PhD on the subject.

He defines bitterness as a chronic and pervasive state of smoldering resentment and I thought that was very picturesque.

A smoldering resentment and he said he regards this is one of the most destructive and toxic of all human emotions. So bitterness begins with small seeds, but then a gross and the second characteristic. The second attribute, I want you to see is that bitterness requires the right kind of soil so you look at something on notice in verse 15.

If you don't mind. The office is looking carefully. That means paying attention very diligently, looking carefully last anyone fall short of the grace of God. The truth is you can never outstrip or outrun the grace of God. The Bible says were sin abounds. Grace overflows, but you can come short of you can lose sight of the grace of God. And when a person misses the grace of God in his or her life. They become susceptible to a life of bitterness by because when we forget how gracious God was to us.

Then we cease being gracious to other people and why are we gracious well this is what you deserve is not what I do. You know we we start forgetting just how merciful and gracious God was to us so we need to grow in grace as if we don't grow in grace. Bad things can grow in us. One of those bad things is this bitterness that some soils are easier to plan things and then others. So it is with human hearts are some people's hearts that are just right for growing a harvest of bitterness. What kind of hard is that people who hold onto things and never let them go. If we keep ruminating on wrongs in the past. Keep chewing on something that somebody did to us in the past, it begins to affect us in the present and it becomes an essential part of who we are is our new identity.

We are that hurt one we are the victim's story of somebody who was like that of the Bible.

She didn't start out that way. Her name was Naomi in the book of Ruth, Naomi is a name that means pleasant, agreeable, friendly, what a great name here comes Miss pleasant. I can see her coming out or wrote about them smiling at everybody.

She gets married and has kids. There's a famine in the land of Israel. In Bethlehem, where she's from that sort of the breadbasket of ancient Israel forces her family to go out and seek food in Moab, a neighboring country and things go from bad to worse, she loses her husband a little luck she loses her two boys Braylon and Kelly on. They both die, so she's bereft of three males and her family. All of that pain that occurs to her becomes a seed that grows in her heart a seed of anger that becomes bitterness toward God. God's only one left the cheek and blames her she blames God, so she comes back to Bethlehem because now there's food back in the land of Israel. She comes back to town people sear in it all look.

Naomi's back, Miss pleasant is back with us and listen to her response.

She said don't call me Naomi, which means pleasant, call me Mara. The word means bitter now she's defining herself as a bitter person self admission. Don't call me pleasant you call me bitter to listen to why for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out small, not really true. And the Lord brought me home again empty the Lord has testified against me. The Almighty has afflicted me know in that little sentences for time she blames God for time. She says I'm better and it's God's fault for time to says I'm not happy and it's got she's now defying her very life by that destructive emotion bitterness and that'll that'll happen. Bitterness turns you into a perpetual victim which is a bad place to be, but it's a very convenient place to be because if you're always the victim, you can justify your anger. I'm angry and I have a right to be angry if you're always a victim you hold onto that anger you blame others. It's always somebody else's fault. You play the victim and if you analyze it carefully and biblically, you'll discover something.

Bitterness is really a form of pride, because in bitterness you are saying God I don't deserve this, by the way, it's not smart to pray. God give me what I deserve because what you deserve is far from what you may think you deserve but this is a form of pride to say I don't deserve this.

I deserve much better. So when I heard comes your way.

If it's a word somebody says it's an action somebody does. Don't let that take root in your heart. You can't let that thing continue to grow.

Don't water it with self exalting thoughts don't fertilize it with other people. Sympathies got routed out is if you hold onto it, it's gonna grab a hold of you and not let you go world is filled with people who have not dealt with past hurts and people who don't deal with past hurts. There's a profile that they eventually fit into they are critical they noticed bad things around them. Not good things always a notice all the bad things I not only are they hypercritical, but there fault finders are sin sniffers. Somebody is rotten around here. I can buy can smell sin and when they talk about people they can't help themselves.

There's going to be a putdown in the conversation. Some going to go negative.

Bitterness is what puts a scowl on one's face and puts venom in one's words. It's bitterness that is grown so it begins with small seeds, it requires the right kind of soil for it to grow. But the third characteristic. The third attribute is that bitterness develops deep roots again.

Look at verse 515.

Excuse me, looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God.

Last any root of bitterness springing up causes trouble and by this many become defiled this whole root of bitterness thing the author of Hebrews and come up with this on his own. He is referring I believe to a text in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 29 where the author is writing what God said to the people of Israel. Deuteronomy 29 the Lord said there shall not be among you. Those with a root bearing bitterness or wormwood and the meaning of data. Deuteronomy 29, originally refers to those people who are superficially identified with the God of Israel, but they're going back to their old roots. Paganism there there leaving the covenant relationship there forsaking the grace of God for getting the covenant of God and they're not bearing spiritual fruit.

There there there life is defined by a root of bitterness, not a sweet root out when the grows good fruit is the larger point people who let a seed like this grow in the soil of their hearts. Eventually develop a root system that grows and grows larger and grow stronger and pretty soon becomes immovable. Why is it called a root because it's hidden you don't see it.

You walk over roots of trees all the time. The growing underneath you they're not apparent at first. At first they will be apparent later on because the root is gonna produce fruit.

But at first it said.

And while it grows hidden unseen grow stronger and it can be destructive.

I this tree in the back of my house and my views and ability many illustrations but one thing that you need to know is that when it was growing early on, and it's grown quite large.

I had people tell me you gotta get rid of that that this kind of tree can destroy houses and destroy foundation because the roots attended the surface roots and they can just break things up and break foundations outbreak heating ducts up but I love this tree.

I have gotten rid of what I have paid a consequence for it because my back porch shows on nice long crowning track because one of the roots of bad tree put it there as it can be very destructive. And so root of bitterness will grow its tentacles around your heart and choke off spiritual life and choke off emotional life and will dominate your life if you let it. And so Paul says no wonder he says this in Ephesians 3. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander in every form of malice.

Some people are better at their parents. Some people are better at churches. Some people are better at leaders. Some people are better at their ex-spouses. Some people are better at their current spouse. Bitterness destroys homes. Colossians chapter 3 verse 19, Paul says husbands love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.

Sometimes, rather than a husband or wife being the better half.

There the better half and it's a big problem among God's people. I think bitterness holds back the power of God. Our life gets so clogged by this root system. We need to get Roto-Rooter in there now because the power of God is sort of disputed the drain is clogged. God wants to move but our bitter hearts block him from doing that she when your heart is better. God will not be real to you.

And that's because hatefulness and holiness cannot dwell in the same heart their exclusive. So instead of a set of letting that seed grow and grow and branch out a root system you need to plant your life and better soil. Listen to Paul's words in Ephesians 3, being rooted and grounded in love, and again in Colossians chapter 2, being rooted and built in him.

So when you sync your life into the rich soil of God's love and into that rich soil and and and life of God's character that's the soil that's that's where you want to be plugged into in Ephesians 3 which I just mention honorably to verses in the new living translation.

Ephesians 317 and 18, listen up. I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust him.

May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand is all God's people should how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love really is.

Would you rather live there. Would you rather be plugged into that kind of soil so that it's inexhaustible over the love of God in all directions. Once you grow the right root. You'll get the right fruit which leads us to the fourth attribute of bitterness and that is bitterness will produce bad fruit. So begins as it as a seed, you allow it to grow. You nurture it you hold onto it. You ruminate over it.

You chew wanted to grows it develops a root system and overtime it produces something and it's always bad. Would you look at verse 15 to see what he says looking carefully let's anyone fall short of the grace of God. Last any root of bitterness. I watch this springing up. Now it's not hidden anymore.

Now it springs up through the soil and when you walk by it in the spring or summer. You see it so that's that's what's happened the sultry mine. Those old roots is not only busted to the contrary, every spring they sprout.

These little extra trees is visceral.

I think were here and were taken over and it just springs up to the soil and I watch what it does.

Springing up causes trouble means it causes you trouble some translations a troubling you. So first of all, the root grows in your direction and then notice the second part and by this that is by it growing toward you and ruining you by this many become defiled, so the bit of router… Root of bitterness the root of bitterness always goes into different directions toward you.

If you harbor bitterness and toward others or defiled by bitterness is like taking poison hoping that your enemy will die. You know, get that person back poison when the can happen.

And all the while it's self-destructive.

You're the one being corroded. Bitterness is a form of emotional suicide. It saps the peace of mind out of your life. Dr. Leon seltzer said it can. That is, bitterness can lead to long-lasting anxiety and depression. It can precipitate vengeful or violent acts. It can create an attitude of cynicism can rob you of potential joys it can interfere with healthy, satisfying relationships and it can undermine your visible health who wants that.

That's what it does to the person who harbors it and dishes it out destroys a person I met another one it can.

You can ruin your relationship with God, it won't sever it will take it away, but it'll ruin it.

First John chapter 4 verse 20 if someone says I love God, but hates another Christian, her brother, that person is a liar. For if we don't love people.

We can see how can we love God whom we have not seen there's an old saying that goes, bitterness does more damage to the vessel in which it is stored, then to anyone upon which it is poured.

You think that that bitterness is going to satisfy your heart and get back to that person.

It's really your damage is being done and you second grows not only toward you, but toward others. Notice that last part is by this set is by you by destroying you by this many become defiled. I was reading the words of the pastor who said I have a lady in my church who is in her 80s and 50 years ago, her aunt said something to her was very hurtful and that she held onto that pain.

To this day, and when she tells the story of what her aunt said to her, she tells it in such vivid detail and with such emotional outbreak. It's as if it happened yesterday.

She is is as as emotional about what happened 50 years ago as a just freshly happened were so he said 50 years later and she is still in the hands of the torturer.

50 years later and she still defiling many by that telling of those details that happen way back when, in the book of acts chapter 8 to great story but it's a sad story.

It's a great story and that Philip left Jerusalem goes up to Samaria and he preaches the gospel and people in Samaria here at the respondent believe in Jesus all revival breaks out and many people in that city are physically healed miraculously healed so the gospel goes out in great power.

The bad part is there's a guy in town in Samaria named Simon the sorcerer Simon Magnus and he had been tricking these people a long time.

Dale thought he was some special because he had all these wonderworking tricks so income the evangelist they preach the gospel.

People believe in Jesus, they get physically healed. Now they get top billing an old Simon the sorcerer overhears, like nobody's watching my channel anymore so he gets all upset and goes to the apostles.

He's angry, goes to the apostles and he offers to give them money to buy the power of the Holy Spirit says they all was because I want to do the trick is not school and Peter turns to him and says you are poisoned by bitterness and you are bound by iniquity to the disciples.

These apostles are getting more attention than Symons and he's angry and he's bitter and and Peter nail… You are poisoned by bitterness and then Peter says this repent now that I've expose that route and you turn from it rooted out turnaround repent that perhaps the thought of your heart would be forgiven.

You, the words better and better.

Both start with the and end with her.

But what is the difference between better and better single letter when you put in that word it's better when you take I out of that word.

It's better when you put IN. And that's always the problem is always about. I mean, myself, what I deserve.

You are prone to become a better person when you take I out is not about what I want. It's what thy will be done.

Thy kingdom come, not by but him you life gets so much better and I know I I am. I am absolutely certain that everyone here has something or someone in their background that they could use as an excuse to get better. It could potentially cause bitterness if you let it. That's why we need to bring it to the foot of the cross and say it's yours. Gotta give it to you I give my life to you. I lay my pain down before you, and because even those people who have caused such pain. Think of it as God's course correction because the author here uses Jesus as an example look at those mean people as bad people arrested Jesus and treated him horribly put them on a cross. Yeah, but the cross was the best thing that ever happened to humanity. So the best. The worst thing becomes the best thing couldn't God do that with us could know all those bitter things that happened in the past actually make you a better person you take.

I out for guy out and put IN there.

It's all about him what you want what you're doing in my life like it so much better rather than better. Conclusive Isaacs message from the series. White-collar said right now want to share about a great resource that will encourage you even more in your face look like if Don Hardy of the Old Testament shows that the Jewish calendar with regular mandatory holidays and celebrations in the book of Esther says that God orients light and gladness, Julian Hunter, at such time sound like your family celebrations.

Listen to this insight from Skip hi, take that one of our own regular holidays. Valentine's Day or God so love that's the essence of his nature. The Bible says God is love, for that is so simple to say so hard for some of us to believe happiness, holiness, and holidays is a four DVD collection of celebration messages from Pastor Stan suggests that could be a game changer for your family. Take holidays from toxic stress to celebrations of light and joy. Here's a sample you are loved by God, not because you deserve it because just because that is his nature. It is his decision in managing that foundation for the next holiday on your family calendar for selection of some of pastor stiff holiday teaching.

Thanks. $25 or more, connect more people to God's word visit connect with stiff.com/offer to give online securely or call 819 to 1888 and request your copy of happiness, holiness, and holidays. I think thank you for teaming them today. We are passionate about helping you strengthen your walk with God, and you can be a part of connecting others to Jesus in the same way when you give a gift to help keep these teachings and live on the air just call 819 1818 in the late 1992 to connect with stiff.com/donate.com/donate. Thank you.

Tune in tomorrow as Skip Heitzigs it talks about the power of your words. You can use them to glorify God and strengthen others.

Proverbs 12 verse 18, there is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword. The tongue of the wise promotes health CL you got that way. Good way to use your tongue. There is so Skip presentation of connection occasions changing truth ever-changing time