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Okay. Lord, there is no other hope. You are our only hope. Thank you that you are here. Thank you for your Holy Spirit. We just ask that your Holy Spirit would direct Dave as he speaks, as he brings us your word. Lord, we open ourselves to your work in our hearts to speak to us. And we thank you in the name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.
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Thank you. It is good to be here in the house of the Lord again this morning. And I have been blessed being here already. One thing that really encouraged me. And so when you're a pastor and trying to figure out what you should preach on and so forth, there's always kind of this lingering question, did I go the right direction? You just don't know for sure. But something was shared here this morning that was an affirmation, a clear affirmation that this is what the Lord. I believe what the Lord wanted me to talk about this morning. Now, we have probably all seen or read about news accounts where someone is killed by gradually poisoning them. I know that there have been different instances that I've read about, and it's usually someone that's close to them and they just simply add enough poison, poison to the food or drink to make them sick, but not kill them. But they keep doing this and they get sicker and sicker and eventually it ends up killing them. And that can continue over a period of weeks or months of doing this before it ends up actually doing what they wanted it to do. Now, you might ask, why this example? But if someone gave you a vial of a grainy substance telling you it contained deadly poison, how much would you be willing to risk putting in your water or your food just to see what it would do? Would we be content with just putting a single grain in, or maybe several grains and just see what happens? Or would we completely avoid it? Satan is out to destroy Christians. He's out to destroy believers. That means us individually, but he's also after the church. And he has a deadly poison that he's trying to do that with if he can. Jesus promised in Matthew 16 that he is building his church upon this rock. I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. We're promised that Satan will not prevail against the church. He will be defeated. That does not mean that Satan does not try to keep defeating us. It does not mean that he does not defeat individual believers here and there as he can. And he is trying to bring down the church in any way that he can. And he's used many tactics over the persecution, apostasy, poverty, prosperity, and deadly poison. And he's willing to use any form of lies or deception that he can, that Christians might listen to to see what they can do. So I've entitled this morning's message deadly poison. Now, you probably are not aware, but I believe that each one of us, every believer, is in possession of a vial of deadly poison thanks to Satan. We choose what we do with it, but we are in possession of it. And we can poison ourselves if we want to. It's not that Satan can poison us, but he can deceive us into poisoning ourselves spiritually, perhaps quite quickly or maybe very gradually over weeks or months. And he may even try to convince us that it's not really poison, but it's medicine and that it won't kill us and it could actually even relieve some pain and hurt that we might feel from others. So what I'm talking about is bitterness. Bitterness is a deadly poison that Satan uses to destroy us. Deuteronomy 29, verses 18 and 19. Read this. This. Beware, lest there be any be among you a man or a woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware, lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit. One who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, I shall be safe though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart. This will lead to sweeping away of moist and dry alike. So this passage in Deuteronomy is more about a person intentionally turning away from God and following other idols. It's not just about someone that's deeply hurt by others, but the description that he's using here. Beware, lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit. And that's the description that's given here. It's a plant that bears poisonous and bitter fruit. King James uses the words gall and wormwood, and this same language is then picked up in the New Testament with the word bitterness as well. Bitterness is when something happens, or it's what happens when genuine pain turns to a deadly spiritual poison. It shows up when a person is deeply hurt, hangs onto the offense, replays that hurt again and again and again, refusing to let it go and move on. Bitterness is a spiritual health condition, and it's not something that is quickly identified or even discerned for what it really is. And it will show itself in a variety of ways. The deadly poison of bitterness is only named several times in the New Testament, but it also, when it is named, it communicates something that's very serious, not something that we dabble in. Ephesians 4. If you would turn in your Bibles, there is a familiar passage of Scripture, and he addresses the idea of bitterness in this passage. Ephesians 4:25. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor. For we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor doing honest work with his hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Now, it doesn't explicitly state it here, but just before he talks about bitterness, he says, do not grieve the Holy Spirit. And I believe bitterness grieves the person of the Holy Spirit. As Ivan talked about several sermons ago, the Holy Spirit is the one that's given to us, to guide us, to comfort us, to be our advocate, and to help us regardless of what we're facing. And we are told here, Paul writes that we are to distance ourselves from all bitterness, not just some, but all bitterness. Now, some would see there's a progression in the way that the words are laid out here, with progression with bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and slander. That there is a progression there that could be, and that's meaning from the hidden to the very obvious. But that's not my emphasis here this morning, and I'm just focusing on the word bitterness. But then I notice in verse 32, the last verse that I read, the contrast when all bitterness is gone, when it's eradicated, it's replaced with kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. And that's quite a contrast there. Now, if you would turn in your bibles to Hebrews 12, I want to read a couple of verses, several verses there as well. Hebrews 12 starts by reminding us that we're running a spiritual race with many witnesses, and that we're to lay aside sin and weights that might hinder Our running, our ability to run well, and our focus is to be on Jesus Christ, our perfect example. Then he follows with some admonition regarding discipline. I don't think any of us really enjoy discipline, but it is necessary and we should not disregard it when it happens. God is taking care of each of his children and wants to discipline and train us to walk faithfully with Him. And then Starting in verse 12, therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Strive for peace with one another. I'm sorry. Strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. That no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. So then verse 12, which is where we started here, gives the picture of someone that's running this race and is tired and exhausted in this spiritual race, and yet God is giving supernatural strength to keep on and finish the marathon. Verse 14 gives us a two pronged condition for seeing God. It's strive for peace, we with everyone, and strive for holiness. And then we come to the warning given about the potential of a root of bitterness springing up and causing trouble. So this root of bitterness is this poisonous root that causes many to become defiled. It says. Now, as we know, a root by its very nature is not visible. It's not something that's seen by others. It's not. Yeah, it's not obvious to others. It sprouts in the deepest and darkest places of our hearts where no one else sees it. And then after it sprouts, it takes root and it will spring up, it will cause trouble. It will defile us and potentially those around us. The root of bitterness is in complete opposition to the commands in verse 14, where we are to live at peace with everyone. And holiness, bitterness destroys relationships. It does not create peace. Bitterness, whose roots are hidden and there's unconfessed sins is the opposite of holiness. And bitterness will not produce good fruit. Instead it will produce poisonous fruit. It might look good, but it's poison. And I think we can see from this, with bitterness in our hearts, we will not see God. Now, this passage here in Hebrews. So it was written to the Hebrews, the Jewish people. So I think it's alluding back to Deuteronomy 29 in those verses that we read, and this includes bitterness is the root of bitterness, includes a wide range of things, including idolatry, all forms of idolatry, anything that takes us away from God. It includes unforgiveness or resentment. It includes jealousy and rivalry, those hidden sins. It includes doctrinal compromise or cynicism toward grace, drifting away from Christ, or even a divisive spirit within the Church. All of these things are included in this idea of a root of bitterness. But it all is talking about that invasive nature of sin. And if it's tolerated, it's going to take over and infect all areas of our lives. The deadly poison of bitterness is another way of looking at the issues of unresolved sin in our lives, because it will eventually poison all aspects of our lives. Now if you would turn with me to Acts 8 is an interesting account of Simon the sorcerer. And in this account we see how seriously God views bitterness. And in this context it's in the broader sense, in the context of jealousy. Acts 8 09:25 but there was a man named Simon who had previously practiced magic in this city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was someone great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying this man is the power of God that is called great. And they paid attention to him for a long time because he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip, as he preached good news to them about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed. And after being baptized he continued with Philip and seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. And when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them. But they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles hands, he offered them money, saying, give me this power also, so that anyone whom I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, may your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money. You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord, that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity And Simon answered, pray for me to the Lord that nothing of what you have said may come upon me now. When they have testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the Gospel to the many villages of the Samaritans. So I will just say from the outset here, I don't know what happened with Simon and the sorcerer after this account. Scripture doesn't tell us. But there's several things I want to note here, that Simon had just become a Christian, so he was a brand new Christian. And there's no indication to believe that this was not a sincere conversion. He was baptized by Philip, but then when Peter and John showed up, he showed an inappropriate desire for power or a jealousy about Peter's power. And that's when Peter immediately confronts him, says, you and your money will perish. Your heart's not right before God. And he called it wickedness. And then it even uses the phrase, if possible, suggests that there's uncertainty of whether Simon may have overstepped his bounds there with God. I don't know. There's two offenses, the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. Now, the word gall there could be interpreted several different ways. And we all, I would assume as humans, we have a gallbladder and there's. And so that's part of it. But then. So one of the descriptions is bile, and another would be secretion of the liver. If we butcher chickens and so forth, you know what that can be like, the secretion from the liver. But the third definition of that is poison. So if you read that as the poison of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. So Peter was obviously very concerned about the attitude that Simon the sorcerer had, but also what it would might, the impact it would have on fellow believers and to the church there as a whole. James also warns us about this bitter jealousy along with selfish ambition in James 3:11. Does the spring. Does a spring pour forth the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you but his good conduct? Let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable than Gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace to those who make peace. So the first part of James 3 talks about our tongue and our speech. And so verses 11 and 12 seem to be kind of continuing that thought when it comes to the idea of bitterness, of bringing forth salt and fresh water and fig trees bearing olives and so forth. But when there's bitterness in our lives, it will poison all aspects of our lives. A plant or a vine will only produce fruit that is consistent with the plant itself or the root. If there is a root of bitterness, there is a plant. And the fruit will be a bitter, poisonous fruit. And it can't be good. There's just no other way about it. And then verse 13 ties it in with our conduct, that the wise and understanding have good conduct. But then verse 14 warns us that we need to be honest with ourselves. If there's any bitterness, bitter jealousy, envying, or selfish ambition in our hearts, don't deny it. Be honest. Don't brag that there's no bitterness. Don't lie about the truth of your character. Because as it continues in verse 15 and 16, this bitter attitude is not wisdom from God, but it is something very different. And it's described as earthly, unspiritual, demonic. That's pretty serious stuff. And so wherever there's these underlying issues of the bitter poison of jealousy, envying and selfish ambition, there will be disorder or lack of unity. There will be vile practices. And then verse 17 contrasts that with genuine godly wisdom. And there's quite a list there. Pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, full of good fruits, impartial, sincere. So even though we'd like to think that we were not susceptible to this kind of thing or that we're above this, we need to be extra careful if we think we're safe. Because like Scripture says, take heed lest ye fall. So we come to the poisoned soul. When I am bitter, it begins by poisoning myself. It begins with poisoning me first, and then it's going to start affecting others around me as well. Bitterness might begin with an offense that is just replayed again and again in my mind rather than releasing. Could be resentment toward that person. It might be disappointment with God that ends up hardening my heart and hardens it into where there's a lack of trust in God. It might be envy or jealousy that ends up becoming hostility, or it might be some unconfessed sin in our life that we defend and there's others. There's many ways that this can begin. But when it begins, there's a root there. And bitterness doesn't die. It grows. And so this hidden, poisonous root that we have permitted into our heart will sprout and start to grow. And I will continue to replay that offense again and again. The hurt can become like a mental movie that I'm just watching and re watching. And I begin to see a different person through this hurt. They are no longer a whole person, not someone that's created in the image of God, but they have become that one that has hurt me. I will probably secretly enjoy their failures since I've been deeply hurt. I justify seeing them suffer so they have a sense of how it feels. My words will become bitter. My heart will become harder. And so this is all things that just happen gradually over time when we allow that bitterness, that deadly poison into our hearts. I appreciate what Ann shared this morning in Share Time. I'm going to share a bit of a personal experience or a personal experience as well, because I know I have experienced the destructive and debilitating nature of bitterness firsthand. So back up a long time ago, 40 years ago plus. My dad was a pastor of a small. Of a very small congregation in Arkansas. I was one of less than a dozen members. So church was for 30 to 40 Hillcrest staff who were involuntary service. But as far as people that lived there long term, there was only about a dozen of us. I was baptized when I was 16 years old. And in the years that followed, I experienced a degree of restlessness and questions I think that probably face most young adults. When I was about 19 or 20, and for reasons and motives still unknown to me, I found myself publicly, but not in my presence, attacked with inaccurate and untrue allegations. And these false charges were brought by a fellow member in our tiny church. At the same time, there were other similar and false allegations being leveled at my parents and my brother by the same individual. So how do you respond to something like that? I was deeply hurt. I was angry. I was defensive. I wanted to prove he was wrong. I was discouraged and depressed and didn't want to have anything to do with church. And even though dad was the pastor, he found himself unable to work through the situation because he was the target and perceived as that he was just simply justifying himself. After several years of living in this turmoil and reality, our family offered to move out of state in order to keep the peace. And that was supported by outside counsel. It was at that time that I moved to Virginia and the rest of my family moved to Kansas. What I didn't realize at the time was that through those intense and difficult two to three years of my life, that deadly poison of bitterness had taken root in my life. I felt vindicated and I should even say, probably joyful, if I'm honest. When within a year or so, the same outside counsel realized that the individual who had caused us all this pain, hurt, and anger was actually the problem, and they were requested to relocate elsewhere. So that was the extent of my experience with church life prior to arriving at this congregation. It was not healthy, and I did not have a good perspective of church. Within the several years of moving here to Virginia, I was convicted. That the lingering poison of bitterness in my heart and how it was affecting other areas of my life, I could justify that I had every right to hang on to those feelings. I didn't want to forgive. There was never an apology or any kind of acknowledgement of wrongdoing. I wanted to blame others because it was not my problem. But through some teaching I heard, I began to recognize that the depth of that deadly root of bitterness had penetrated my life and poisoned my relationship with God as well as those around me. And when I recognized what was happening, I eventually chose to forgive the person that caused all that heart pain and resentment and that was destroying me spiritually. The decision to forgive and to destroy the bitterness in my life has been a spiritual milestone. But I would say it's probably one of the most difficult things I've ever done as well to this day that this person has not offered an apology or even acknowledged the cause, hurt, and pain of these untrue allegations. However, I've had the opportunity to forgive again and again and again and again, literally hundreds of times over the years, each time reminding myself that I have forgiven and I have no right to hold anything against him. Out of the blue, within the last few weeks, I was reminded that those false rumors are still afloat today, 40 years later. And once again, I had to discipline myself and say, I'm going to forgive. Once, twice, forgiving the third time, and again and again, even after that, as I was tempted to get angry again. As difficult as this experience was, it was an important lesson to learn for me to learn, and I believe it prepared me for church leadership. I've certainly had an ample opportunity to spot potential bitterness in my heart and eradicate it before it takes root since I've been ordained. The good news is there is an antidote for bitterness. Bitterness can be defeated. It poisons us only as Long as we allow it to deepen its roots and grow, it can be uprooted and eradicated. But it takes intentionality. And the first step to victory over that grip of bitterness in our lives is to repent. And I believe that repentance is the key to destroying bitterness and the underlying sins in our lives. Because to repent requires me to admit that there's unconfessed sin in my life. It's not just a weakness, it's not a hereditary trait, it's not a personality trait. It's sin. And to repent requires that I renounce sin. It means that I deliberately and intentionally turn around and walk away from that sin. It will destroy the bitterness in our lives. We will quit allowing these sinful attitudes to control our thinking. Letting go of past offenses caused by others, even when there is no hint of apology or any kind of acknowledgment of wrongdoing. It means forgiving those that have hurt us deeply, even when they don't deserve it. And it's not a one time renunciation. We'll need to renounce these attitudes of sin again and again for years to come. To repent means to turn around and walk the other direction and not even flirt with sin. God's grace is available for anyone who sincerely asks him for it. He said, my grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness. God wants to come alongside us and help us in those times when it's impossible. He gives us the power to live in victory over the deadly sin of bitterness if we truly see it as sin and repent and genuinely want to forgive. He wants to see us living in victory. He gives us what we need to do so. But we have to want it first. John 4:4 says, Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them. But greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world, the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us is greater than anything that Satan can throw at us. Satan has assured, ensured that each of us has a vial of deadly poison enticing us to hold on to wrongs. And injustice is done to us, tempting us to envy and jealousy, hiding our sins. But when we give in to those temptations, we begin poisoning ourselves spiritually and invite a root of bitterness to take place in our heart. And this bitterness is a deadly poison that Satan uses to destroy the effectiveness of and purpose of individual believers and ultimately the church. Bitterness will take root when we refuse to acknowledge and renounce other sins in our lives. The deadly poison of Bitterness will look differently for each one of us. But the power of God is greater than this deadly poison. Genuine repentance is the key to victory. And the Holy Spirit will give us the power to eradicate this deadly poison from our lives. So let's I invite you to invite God to inspect your heart, our hearts, for traces of this deadly poison. And if it's there, if he finds it, that we confess and repent and seek the power of God to live in victory. Stand together for a closing prayer. Thank you Father, for the gift of salvation, for the power of your Holy Spirit, your grace in each one of our lives. Thank you for the that your power, the power that you give us is far greater than anything Satan can tempt us with and try to deceive us with. I pray, Lord, as you search our hearts this morning for traces of bitterness, that deadly poison that Satan tempts us with, that you would identify if there's roots of bitterness in our heart, that you would give us the grace and the wisdom to get rid of those things, if they're there, that we let go, that we forgive, that we surrender them to you. Just ask that you would be with us as we go from here and as we're tempted to hold grudges, to resent, to not forgive, that you remind us of the deadly nature of going down such a path and that we would stay faithful to you in all aspects of our lives. Ask your blessing on each one of us as we go from here and throughout this week. For your honor and your glory. In Jesus name, Amen. Go in peace.