Bitterness Acts 8:12-25 - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Bitterness

Acts 8:12-25 Slide2

Acts 8:12-2512 

But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13 

Then

Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized

, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

14 

Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

15 

Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

16 

(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)Slide3

17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

18 

And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

19 

Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

20 

But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

21 

Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.Slide4

22

Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

23 

For I perceive that thou art in

the gall of bitterness

, and in the bond of iniquity.

24 

Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the

Lord

for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

25 

And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.Slide5

What is bitterness?

What type of attitude are we discussing here?Slide6

The word is

Pikros

in the Greek and literally means

“sharp, piercing”.

John MacArthur describes it as

“a smoldering resentment, a brooding grudge-filled attitude… It is the spirit of irritability that keeps a person in perpetual animosity, making him sour and venomous

“.

Another commentator says bitterness is

“settled hostility that poisons the whole inner man.”Slide7

Although it often starts with angry feeling over a specific

offense

it is more.

Bitterness

involves angry feelings that we hang on to.

Anger

turns into resentment as we continue to think about the offense.Slide8

Listen to the Hebrew writer:Slide9

Heb. 12: 14

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no

man

shall see the Lord:

15 

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

;

Notice:

‘root of bitterness

’ Pulling up ‘bitter weeds’Slide10

Ephesians

4:31

Let

all bitterness

, and wrath, and anger, and

clamour

,

and

evil speaking,

be put away from you

, with all malice

:

1 Samuel 1:10

And she was

in bitterness of soul

, and

prayed

unto the Lord, and wept sore.

Ruth 1:20

And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very

bitter

ly with me.Slide11

1 Samuel 15:32

Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me

Agag

the king of the Amalekites. And

Agag

came unto him delicately. And

Agag

said, Surely the

bitter

ness of death is past

.

Job 7:11

Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the

bitter

ness of my soul.Slide12

Proverbs 17:25

A foolish son is a grief to his father, and

bitter

ness to her that bare him.

Ecclesiastes 7:26

And I find more

bitter

than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso

pleaseth

God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by

her

Isaiah 5:20

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put

bitter

for sweet, and sweet for

bitter

!Slide13

Matthew 26:75

And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept

bitter

ly

Colossians

3:19

Husbands, love your wives, and be not

bitter

against them

.

James

3:11

Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and

bitter

?

James

3:14

But if ye have

bitter

envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.Slide14

Revelation 10:10

And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was

bitter

.Slide15

Cain and Abel Gen. 4:8

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass,

when

they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel

his

brother, and slew him

.

Remember God had asked:

4:6

So the Lord said to Cain,

Why are you angry

?

Why?Slide16

The New Testament states plainly:Slide17

. Eph 4:31-32

–

Let all bitterness

, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you

.

Notice

The opening word

in

Paul’s list is rendered as

bitterness

in most translations.Slide18
Slide19

Are we bitter sometimes?Slide20

It especially resurfaces when we are around the person who has offended us. So we avoid them. When we are around them the slightest provocation sets us off.

We

become jaded about everything that person does. We always assume the worst and attach the worst motive to everything they do.

Even

when efforts are made to reconcile we refuse to talk or impose impossible conditions

It works like a long-acting poison, killing the person from the insideSlide21

Joseph’s Battle with Bitterness:

Many

of the bitter people we might meet are

absolutely

convinced that their special circumstances justifies

their

attitude and anger.

You may hear them say:

“

You do not know how bad I have been treated

”.

But God has an answer for that. He would point us to a

man

named

Joseph in O.T.

If

there was ever a man who had a right

to

be bitter, it was JosephSlide22

Genesis 37

records the animosity of Joseph’s brothers and their willingness to sell him into slavery.

He

ends up in Egypt as a slave,

but

things do not end there.

While

in Egypt, Joseph had

suffered

a number of setbacks.Slide23

When he refused the advances of his master’s wife,

she accused him of trying to assault her and Joseph

was thrown into prison.

He is lied about and betrayed again.

In prison, he helped one of his fellow inmates

who later forgot him when this inmate was released.

He is betrayed again.Slide24

Through God’s providential power, Joseph is given the opportunity to interpret the dream of the Pharaoh, and a great famine is averted.

Joseph

is appointed to a very powerful position. In the preparation for the famine Joseph is put in charge of distributing the food that was stored

.

When strangers from a distant land come to buy food Joseph recognizes them as his own brothers.

Here is Joseph

, a powerful man now, with

their very lives in his hands

.

What would he do

?

What would we do?Slide25

Genesis 45:1-15

How

could Joseph treat these guys so good after all they had done to him

?

Joseph

must

have fought a tough battle with bitterness.

Elbert

Hubbard, an early 20th century American writer, has observed

:

“

The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure contemptuous treatment without resentment

.”

Joseph showed his greatnessSlide26

What

can we learn from Joseph?

Sometimes

anger can make us lose our perspective. We inflate things in our minds and this helps justify our bitterness

.

I

am challenged by the wounds that Joseph suffered

. Few of us have faced this degree of mistreatment.Slide27

The Longevity of the Temptation:

Joseph’s

faith was tested over

a long period of time

in this matter.

After

Jacob dies

, Joseph’s

brothers fear that animosity and

vengefulness still

lie sequestered in the heart of Joseph.

Here

is the perfect opportunity for Joseph to get even for the evil that was done to him long ago.Slide28

. Gen

. 50:15-21

– Certainly Joseph could view his desire for revenge as an opportunity for justice

.

It is important that we are able to properly understand the principles and characteristics of the God we serve.

Joseph

understood that God’s blessing and providence were not given to him to serve his own fleshly desires.Slide29

Joseph’s Initiative

:

We see Joseph’s

initiative in turning back the bitterness.

One

of the reasons people fail to work out their problems

and

wind up becoming bitter is because no one is willing to

take

the initiative to fix them.Slide30

A husband and wife have a fight; the husband feels like the wife is wrong and he’s going to be mad and they’re not speaking until she comes and apologizes

.

Brethren have a fuss,

both feel the other is wrong and refuse to resolve the problem until the other guy takes the first step. Who made the rule that the other guy has to come to me?

Jesus

did not.Slide31

If you are the offended one you should go: Matt 18:15

–17

“

Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother

.

If we have offended someone, we go to them –

Matt 5:23-24

–

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

If

we’re going to win this battle over bitterness, we must be willing to take the lead to work things out

!Slide32

Joseph’s

Kindness:

Notice

that he does

not simply forgive

his brother’s past offenses

.

He also floods them with

acts of kindness

. He gives them food

when

they deserved none.

He

protects them.

Gen

50:21

–

1 Now therefore, do not be afraid;

I will provide for you and your little ones.”

And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.Slide33

The Bible describes the hatred of his brothers when he was young

.

Gen 37:4 –

But when his brothers saw that their father loved

him more

than all his brothers,

they hated him

and could not

speak peaceably

to him

.

Joseph’s heart was not contaminated with the envy and hatred that was evidenced in the tone of their voice. He spoke kindly to them.Slide34

.

Joseph’s actions point to a true key to battling bitterness

.

Sometimes

even after forgiveness has been voiced tensions remain

.

That

emotional tension can cause bitterness to breed.

But

doing active good for another can heal the emotional hurt.

If

they get sick, be the first to take some food by or send a card.

If

they need some help, be the first to volunteer.

Have

them over for a

meal or take them out to eat. .

It will not be easy, but it is the

right

thing to doSlide35

Matt 5:43-45 –

4

3

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;Slide36

God’s Word is True. It works!!

Rom

12:19-21

–

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Bro. Granville

Tyler. IllustrationSlide37

Paul proclaims that God’s people must not seek vengeance, but rather allow for the vengeance of God.

In

fact, Paul’s argument is that the individual has no right to seek justice on his own. He goes on the express

right of the government (because it is ordained of God) to execute justice

. (I appeal to Caesar)

When

the government is unable or unwilling to acquire justice, the Christian must rely upon God.Slide38

. God calls us to

repay evil with good.

Our

hearts must be purified of every vestige of self-justification

.

By absolute submissiveness we overcome evil.

That

is what Joseph

did.

All of the evil that was brought into his life by Satan was undone by God through the right moral choices of Joseph.

He overcame evil with good.Slide39

Look at

Joseph’s way of looking at what has happened.

Joseph’s Perspective

:

Gen

50:19-20 –

Joseph said to them,

“Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?

20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day,

to save many people alive

.

As he reflects on what happened, he

does not focus

on the terrible things his brothers did, but

on the good that came from it

.

He focuses on

what God has done positively in his life. This was a choice on his part.Slide40

Most of us have been mistreated. And most of us have mistreated others.

It

may be difficult at times to see God in our

mistreatment

, At

times our most objective and beneficial critics are our enemies.

We

need to pay attention to what they say. I can benefit from their

wounds

.

Has some unfair criticism of your children

made you reevaluate your parenting?

Has

some slight by others during a time of need made you

more careful to care for others during their time of

need?.Slide41

Some difficult person can help me grow my patience.

James 1:2-4

–

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing

.

I’d still be eating

! (Bro. From Sheffield)Slide42

Bitterness…

Let all

bitterness..be

cast from you.

Are

you being poisoned

? Am I?

Are we bitter???

Satan

is at work.

We

must be willing to act like

Jesus teaches

Us and like he Himself demonstrated in His

Life and Death!