Dangers Of Letting Bitterness Take Root - Detox Today Series

Compiled by: Herman Abrahams (Pastor), Cornerstone Faith Ministries, P.O. Box 740, Westridge 7802, Rep. of South Africa.

E-Mail: Mentorship2003@yahoo.co.uk

Note to the reader:

If you have been blessed with this sermon compilation, I would be honoured to receive an e-mail from you merely telling me where in the world you are based - I do not need any other information. This is merely so that I can have the pleasure of giving thanks to Almighty God for the fact that all over the globe, the ministry which he has entrusted to me, is blessing the body of Christ and helping to extend the Kingdom of God.

Thank you.

Herman Abrahams

Cape Town, South Africa.

-------------------------------------------------------

Credits:

--------

1. ‘Your Best Life Now’ By Joel Osteen, (Warner Faith), Chapter 18, ‘Don’t Let Bitterness Take Root.’

2. ‘The Healthy Christian Life’ By Frank Minirth, Paul Meier, Richard Meier & Don Hawkins (Baker Book House), Chapter 18, ‘The Dangers Of Unforgiving Bitterness.’

Dangers of Letting Bitterness Take Root - Detox Today

Hebrews 12:14-15

INTRODUCTION

------------

We all have unfair and unjust things happen to us; that’s a part of life. When we are hurt, we can choose to hold on to that pain and become bitter, or we can choose to let it go and trust God to make it up to us.

In some countries there are up to 75 % of people who are angry about something. Imagine that! Seven to eight out of every ten people you encounter today will be angry about something or with somebody.

1. ANGRY ABOUT SOMETHING

-----------------------------

Amongst us here this morning there will be those of you who are angry about something or other:

 You could be angry about what someone said about you,

 You are angry with your boss for not giving you the promotion you deserved,

 You are angry with your wife for continually putting you down,

 You could be angry with that firend who promised you the world and then broke up with you,

 Maybe something happened to you when you were younger, somebody mistreated you, somebody took advantage of you.

… and you are angry … very angry !!

2. TO ENJOY LIFE …

--------------------------

If you want to enjoy life and live it to the fullest, …

 You must be quick to forgive.

 Learn to let go of the hurts and pains of the past.

 Don’t let bitterness take root in your life.

 For your emotional and spiritual health, you must let bitterness go.

 It doesn’t do any good to go around hating somebody.

 It does’nt make any sense to stay angry for what somebody’s done to you in the past.

 You can’t do anything about the past, but you can do something about the future.

Why don’t you forgive and trust God to make it up to you?

NIV- HEB 12:14-15

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile (or contaminate) many.

NLT - HEB 12:15

Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up (i) to trouble you, (ii) corrupting many.

3. BITTERNESS, A ROOT

------------------------

Notice, bitterness is described as a root. Think about that. You can’t see a root; it’s deep down under the ground. But you can be sure of this: A bitter root will produce bitter fruit. If we have bitterness on the inside, it’s going to affect every area of our lives.

Many people attempt to bury the hurt and pain deep in their hearts or in their subconscious minds. They harbor unforgiveness and resent¬ment, and then they wonder why they can’t really live in victory, why they can’t get along with other people, why they can’t be happy. They don’t realize it, but it’s because their own hearts are poisoned. The Bible says,

MATT 15:18-20

Mt 15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ Mt 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. Mt 15:20 These are what make a man ‘unclean’;

In other words, if we have bitterness on the inside, it’s going to end up contaminating everything that comes out of us. It will contaminate our personalities and our attitudes, as well as how we treat other people.

REMEMBER: A bitter root will produce bitter fruit.

Many people are trying to improve their lives by dealing with the external fruit. They are attempting to rectify their bad habits, bad attitudes, bad tempers, or negative and sour personalities. They’re deal¬ing with the fruit of their lives, trying to change those things, and that is noble. But the truth is, unless they get to the root, they will never be able to change the fruit. Because as long as that bitter root is growing on the inside, that problem will persist and keep popping up time and again. You may be able to control your behavior for a while or keep a good attitude for a short period of time, but have you ever wondered why you can’t really get free? Why you can’t overcome that destructive habit?