Poisoned By Bitterness

Acts 8:9–13 (NKJV)

9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great,

10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.”

11 And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries (magic art) for a long time.

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

13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

Acts 8:14–25 NKJV

14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” 24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” 25 So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip, a Grecian Jew and therefore more broad-minded than Aramaic-speaking Jews in Israel (cf. 6:1), went to the Samaritans.

This is deacon Phillip

It’s interesting how God used Phillips cultural background to reach the Samaritans.

God knew that Phillip was more open to the Samaritans.

Sometimes God can use our cultural background and the acceptance of curtain kind of people in order to be able to minster to people.

To pioneer the work.

Outreach yesterday

Me Jason and miss Monriah, we went out soul winning yesterday. We seen a guy outside his house. And it was transparent he stayed up and watched the news everyday. He was very suspicious Of the government of the world. Very critical of the church. He kept trying to shift the focus on everyone else. But he never thought to himself maybe I’m the problem. But we kept loving kept encouraging.

vs -So you have a man name Simon who’s introduced in this story. He was a sorcerer.

A sorcerer was a person who performed magical spells that harness occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world.

So he did magic or practice magic.

His magic was effective in the eyes of the people of Samaria.

They where astonished at Simon.

And it seemed that the astonishment of the people fueled his ego because he claimed “that he was great.”

And verse 10 shows that he was considered to be “the great power of God.”

But this man was a charlatan who made money from his bag of tricks.

He was a false magician, but an effective one.

The earliest account is that of Justin Martyr from the middle of the second century. Justin was himself a Samaritan and wrote that Simon, a Samaritan from the village of Gitto, was worshiped by “almost all” of the Samaritans of his day as “the first god.”

Simon was indeed worshiped as God. They actually erected a statue with the inscription “to the holy god Simon” .

vs 12 Now the People of Samaria stopped following Simon now they are following Phillip.

Imagine growing up and people are always complementing you.

Always telling you how awesome you are how amazing you are.

How wonderful you look.

How beautiful or handsome you are

How smart you are.

Until someone more smarter more intelligent, more beautiful, moore handsome taller wealther comes in the room .

And you pride shrinks lol

Great gifts are not great Graces, but great gifts require great Graces to go with them, or else they become a temptation and a snare. Partnership With Christ, Volume 44, Sermon #2580 -1 Corinthians 1:9

Charles Spurgeon

23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

The “gall of bitterness” expresses a state of great wickedness. A “root of bitterness” is a wicked person or a dangerous sin.

Hebrews 12:12–17 NKJV

12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

Bitter can come in when we profane the things of God. When we walk away from God.

Indeed we become Godless like Esau.

You can tell when a persons bitter because they complain about everything.

Bitterness

Synopsis

A feeling of anger and resentment, caused particularly by perceived unfairness in suffering or by adverse circumstances.

The causes of bitterness

Adverse personal circumstances

Job 10:1

Job 10:1 (NKJV) — 1 “My soul loathes my life; I will give free course to my complaint, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

See also Ge 27:34; Ru 1:20 “Mara” means “bitter”; 1 Sa 30:6; 2 Sa 13:36; 2 Ki 4:27; Ps 55:4–14; Pr 17:25; Je 6:26

Genesis 27:34 (NKJV) — 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

Ruth 1:20 (NKJV) — 20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

1 Samuel 30:6 (NKJV) — 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

2 Samuel 13:36 (NKJV) — 36 So it was, as soon as he had finished speaking, that the king’s sons indeed came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his servants wept very bitterly.

2 Kings 4:27 (NKJV) — 27 Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”

Psalm 55:4–14 (NKJV) — 4 My heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. 6 So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. 7 Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah 8 I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest.” 9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they go around it on its walls; Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it. 11 Destruction is in its midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets. 12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him. 13 But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance. 14 We took sweet counsel together, And walked to the house of God in the throng.

Proverbs 17:25 (NKJV) — 25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, And bitterness to her who bore him.

Jeremiah 6:26 (NKJV) — 26 O daughter of my people, Dress in sackcloth And roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.

External circumstances

Eze 3:14 Because of the exiles’ hardness of heart.

Ezekiel 3:14 (NKJV) — 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.

See also Job 21:25; Job 27:2; La 3:1–20; Eze 21:6

Job 21:25 (NKJV) — 25 Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, Never having eaten with pleasure.

Job 27:2 (NKJV) — 2 “As God lives, who has taken away my justice, And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,

Lamentations 3:1–20 (NKJV) — 1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. 2 He has led me and made me walk In darkness and not in light. 3 Surely He has turned His hand against me Time and time again throughout the day. 4 He has aged my flesh and my skin, And broken my bones. 5 He has besieged me And surrounded me with bitterness and woe. 6 He has set me in dark places Like the dead of long ago. 7 He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy. 8 Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer. 9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. 10 He has been to me a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in ambush. 11 He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces; He has made me desolate. 12 He has bent His bow And set me up as a target for the arrow. 13 He has caused the arrows of His quiver To pierce my loins. 14 I have become the ridicule of all my people— Their taunting song all the day. 15 He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood. 16 He has also broken my teeth with gravel, And covered me with ashes. 17 You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity. 18 And I said, “My strength and my hope Have perished from the Lord.” 19 Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul still remembers And sinks within me.

Ezekiel 21:6 (NKJV) — 6 Sigh therefore, son of man, with a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes.

Human failure

Mt 26:75

Matthew 26:75 (NKJV) — 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

See also Ezr 10:1; Je 2:19; Je 4:18; La 1:4

Ezra 10:1 (NKJV) — 1 Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.

Jeremiah 2:19 (NKJV) — 19 Your own wickedness will correct you, And your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That you have forsaken the Lord your God, And the fear of Me is not in you,” Says the Lord God of hosts.

Jeremiah 4:18 (NKJV) — 18 “Your ways and your doings Have procured these things for you. This is your wickedness, Because it is bitter, Because it reaches to your heart.”

Lamentations 1:4 (NKJV) — 4 The roads to Zion mourn Because no one comes to the set feasts. All her gates are desolate; Her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted, And she is in bitterness.

Bitterness is evidence of a sinful heart

Ac 8:23

Acts 8:23 (NKJV) — 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

See also Ro 3:10–18

Romans 3:10–18 (NKJV) — 10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” 13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Bitterness is to be avoided

Heb 12:15

Hebrews 12:15 (NKJV) — 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

See also Eph 4:31; Jas 3:14

Ephesians 4:31 (NKJV) — 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

James 3:14 (NKJV) — 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.

The remedy for bitterness

Forgiveness

Ge 33:1–11; Lk 15:25–32; Eph 4:31–32

Genesis 33:1–11 (NKJV) — 1 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. 2 And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. 7 And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down. 8 Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. 11 Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took it.

Luke 15:25–32 (NKJV) — 25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ 28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ 31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

Ephesians 4:31–32 (NKJV) — 31 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.

The causes of bitterness will pass away

Ps 37:1–2

Psalm 37:1–2 (NKJV) — 1 Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.

Examples of bitterness in people’s lives

Ru 1:19–21; 2 Sa 13:22; Es 5:9; Lk 15:30

Ruth 1:19–21 (NKJV) — 19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

Absalom became bitter with Amnon

2 Samuel 13:22 (NKJV) — 22 And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.

Esther 5:9 (NKJV) — 9 So Haman went out that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, and that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with indignation against Mordecai.

The Story of the prodigal son.

The older son became bitter towards his brother and the father.

Luke 15:30 (NKJV) — 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

Waiting something so bad but its not Gods will can bring leanness to your soul. Can cause bitterness.

Ps 106:15 And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul.

Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter, and wrathful words make them wrathful. Kind words also produce their image on men’s souls; and a beautiful image it is. They smooth, and quiet, and comfort the hearer.

Blaise Pascal

Because Jesus drank so deeply of bitter suffering, he is able to steady our hand as we drink what for us is a bitter draught but is, by comparison with his, a diluted cup.

Herbert Carson

Christ will be sweet to us if sin be bitter.

Matthew Henry