Bitter or Better?

We all go through trials and we all suffer in this life. There is a huge difference between people who are disciples of Jesus and those who are caught up in the worldly maze, which sadly includes not only non-believers, but those who think are Christians as well, whether in the Lord’s church or those in man-made churches.

How to endure the discipline of the Lord without becoming embittered.

Heb 12:1-17

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 14 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 many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.

Bitter or Better?

Jesus gives us the winning formula, ALWAYS!

1- Throw off the sin

a. Endure suffering 1 Pe 4:1,2

b. Scorn the shame by not being the source of it!

2- Run with perseverance

a. Run fixing your eyes on Jesus!

b. Be done with your evil desires!

c. Live for doing God’s will!

d. Jesus suffered because He saw the joy through the suffering He endured!

1Peter 4:1, 2

1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

Bitterness happens when:

1- You give up

a. Grow weary

b. Loose heart

c. Give into sin

2- You forget God is intensely interested in you!

a. He rebukes you

b. He punishes you

c. He treats you like His son

3- You forget about God’s grace

a. Lack of grace causes bitterness

b. Bitterness causes sin

i. Sexual immorality

ii. Godlessness

Train Yourself

1- You need to ARM yourself

a. Be equipped – It is your responsibility

b. Attitude- its all in the mindset!

c. Be prepared to suffer and endure it!

i. Baste in the sufferings and in the injustice!

ii. Relate to Jesus in it!

iii. Consider it a joy because God is treating you as sons!

2- Discipline is NOT pleasant to the flesh!

a. Becoming holy is a painful process

b. Your flesh is not going to like it

c. So give up

i. Complaining

ii. Criticizing

iii. Bad attitude

3- Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees

a. Make level paths for your feet

b. Recognize you are lame

i. Let it not disable you

ii. Understand your weakness that you may be healed

4- Training produces righteousness and peace

a. Training requires consistency

b. It also requires the desire to make adjustments as you go on

c. It requires focus

d. It requires a desire to see God

“Without Holiness no one will see the Lord”

Heb 6:10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

You only will be able to help others if you have helped yourself in your training for holiness. God will help you as you help others

Heb 10:32-35 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

This is the kind of confidence that comes from a focused mind: one that has no regrets nor any bitterness.

Rev 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."

Once you are in Heaven, do you think you will have any regrets over always following God’s will, no matter what you had to give up? If you are in Hell, you will regret everything you did not do to train yourself to be godly.

2Co 7:10, 11

10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

Remember, if you do feel regret over anything, that feeling will accompany you to hell, for true repentance never produces regret.

Regret is the kind of thing that leads to bitterness and sin, which are by-products of the kind of life that will never see God.