Bitterness on SermonAudio

Apostle John, after pointing to the necessity of hope of seeing Christ motivate a life of active purity (3). Like Thomas Watson asserted. Who that "Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet," John reminds the believers, that though society might redefine what sin is, Christians should have a clear biblical definition of sin (4). In using biblical vocabularies define sin: as transgression against the law of God, as missing the mark of God's holy standards, as iniquity, as trespass but also, sin is unrighteousness (I Jn. 5v17). "If all unrighteousness is sin" this means that every thought, motive, word, action, or omission that falls short of God's holy character, God's righteous law, God's revealed will, and God's command to love others is sin before Him. Thus, when others dare to dilute and downplay the seriousness of sin, Christians must know the reality of sin, from which they (we) are saved.

Today our venue is James 3:13-4:6. Everything we do will be exegetically driven, which means that we draw it from the words God inspired, but we will not be handling every detail of the text. That means we need to know about the context. In short, James 3 is about the tongue and the sins of the tongue. James 3:6, 8: And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. . . . 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. James didn't deal with the tongue directly because your tongue is only an instrument of your heart. You will never cease to gossip or to be bitter toward someone, or to say careless and hurtful things by just deciding not to do it any more. You can only tame your tongue and make your speech glorify God and spread His grace by filling your heart with good treasures (Matthew 12:34-37). No one can cause you to say wicked things unless you are letting those wicked things ferment in your heart already. To control your tongue requires choosing wisdom which only God can provide. We're going to major on that today, with special emphasis on relationships. 1 - The Pervasive Pondering (3:13) 2 - The Pesky Problem (3:14-16) 3 - The Peace Principle (3:17-18) 4 - The Pesky Predicament (4:1-4) 5 - The Greater Grace (4:5-6)

Every professional sports team has team rules which are part of their training program. The Christian life is a long-distance marathon! As such God has a training program which includes trials, afflictions, hardships. There is no gain without pain! But in God's training program there are certain things we need to do. We need to concentrate on fixing our eyes on Jesus who is the source of our strength, and on right living so as to help weak, struggling Christians on their race. We need to pursue peace with all people and holiness as a positive witness to a watching world! And then we need to be spiritually vigilant, looking our for those in danger of falling short of God's grace. Looking out for those who have a root of bitterness and for the sexually immoral. Looking out too for those who have shallow selfishness, who have no reverence for the things which are sacred. We need to not only look out and care for others, but also examine ourselves to be sure we are living up to God's training rules!

God's sovereignty is on full display in Genesis 44 and 45, where Joseph's story reaches one of its most powerful turning points. After testing his brothers to see if they had truly changed, Joseph witnesses Judah offer himself as a substitute so that Benjamin can go free. This act of sacrificial love mirrors the gospel itself, pointing forward to what Jesus Christ would one day do for all of humanity. When Joseph finally reveals his identity, he does not respond with bitterness or revenge. Instead, he declares that God sent him to Egypt, reframing years of suffering, slavery, and injustice as part of a divine plan to preserve life. God does not waste our pain. He redeems it, working even our worst moments into something that serves His eternal purposes.

In "Four Rules of Communication," Pastor Robert McNutt steps away from the Romans series to stir up the church by way of reminder (2 Peter 1:12-13) with a foundational teaching from Ephesians 4:25-32. Ephesians tells believers where to sit with Christ in the heavenlies, how to walk worthy of their calling, and how to stand against the devil, and this passage applies the call to put off the old self and put on the new through renewed minds. Paul's first application is communication, and Pastor McNutt draws four rules from the text. First, be honest: others cannot read our minds, nonverbal cues are never conclusive, and honesty is more than not lying; half-truths and lawyering are deceit, and we must be reconciled to our brother before we worship (Matthew 5:23-24). Second, keep current: be angry and do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger or give the devil a foothold. Love may cover some offenses (1 Peter 4:8), but sin harming the body must be addressed, after checking our facts, attitude, timing, words, and prayers. Third, attack the problem, not the person: the tongue is a fire (James 3), and attacking a person criticizes his Creator, so speak only what builds up and gives grace to those who hear. Fourth, act, don't react: put away bitterness, wrath, clamor, slander, and malice, and instead be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving, as God in Christ forgave us. Changing habits is hard, but God provides the way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13), and the church as God's family can build one another up because our righteous Advocate has forgiven us.

The sermon explores the biblical command to give one's heart to God by examining various negative heart conditions and their corresponding spiritual remedies. It identifies deceit, despising, dying, delaying, double, and despairing hearts as obstacles to a godly life, offering specific scriptural countermeasures such as diligence, devotion, generosity, immediate obedience, singleness of mind, and dependence on God. The teaching emphasizes the urgency of acting on God's will without procrastination and the danger of dividing one's loyalty between worldly pursuits and divine service. Additionally, it addresses the pastoral responsibility of parents to avoid provoking bitterness in their children and encourages believers to trust in God's past, present, and future faithfulness rather than relying on self-sufficiency. The overall tone is instructive and convicting, urging listeners to align their inner dispositions with God's statutes.

This sermon explores the distinction between earthly wisdom and the wisdom from above as presented in James 3. It defines true wisdom as the skill of godly living, requiring the application of moral truth with a meek spirit rather than mere intellectual knowledge. The text contrasts the destructive nature of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, which lead to disorder, with the fruit of the Spirit, including purity, peace, gentleness, and sincerity. The message emphasizes that these qualities are not achieved through human effort but are the result of yielding to the Holy Spirit over time. Ultimately, the sermon points to Jesus Christ as the embodiment of divine wisdom, whose self-sacrificial love on the cross provides the righteousness and reconciliation that human striving cannot attain.

We Need God To Reveal It The message centers on our complete dependence upon the Lord to see life, sin, ourselves, and Jesus rightly. Like Israel in Numbers 15, we are naturally inclined to follow our own hearts and our own eyes, but God calls us to look, listen, and live—to look to Him, listen to what He says, and then walk by faith in what He reveals. The contrast between Joshua and Caleb and the other ten spies shows that faith does not deny what is visible; faith simply believes God's report above what seems right to us. The message then moves into the ongoing work of revival in the believer's life through three essential truths: God must reveal it, grace must remove it, and His goodness must replace it. We cannot properly deal with bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, self-reliance, or any other work of the flesh until God shines His light upon it. Once He reveals it, we do not overcome it through our own strength; we surrender it to the sufficient grace of Jesus. But God does not merely remove what is wrong—He fills that place with His own goodness, character, and ways so that the life of Jesus can be manifested through us. Numbers 15, Leviticus 18, and the wilderness journey all reinforce the same truth: God's people are not to live according to where they came from or according to the world around them. We have been given a new life, a new family, and a new way of living. We do not learn that life from Egypt, Canaan, our past, our feelings, or the culture; we learn it by looking unto Jesus and yielding to His Spirit. The message ultimately calls us to intentional dependence upon the Lord. We cannot accidentally obey God, accidentally walk in the Spirit, or accide

This sermon examines the parable of the unforgiving servant to illustrate the boundless nature of God's grace and the corresponding obligation for believers to extend forgiveness to others. The central argument posits that human sin creates an unpayable debt to God, which is fully forgiven through divine mercy, thereby rendering any human offense against a believer insignificant in comparison. The message challenges the audience to reject a victim mentality and bitterness, urging them instead to live in the victory of their own forgiveness by releasing grudges against friends, family, or acquaintances. Through the example of Corrie ten Boom and the theological framework of Matthew 18, the sermon emphasizes that withholding judgment from others is a direct response to the compassion shown by God, warning that failure to forgive results in spiritual judgment.