THE SECRET HIDDEN SIN

Hebrews 12:14-15 

Introduction: This sin is hard to detect.  Why?  It is hard to see.  We have several tall trees on the church property.  You can see the leaves or needles on them.  You see the pecans on the trees.  But what you do not see is the root system that holds the tree up.  This sin is hard to detect because it is hidden deep down inside of folks.  They do not see root.  They see the fruit of the root.  The root system is what causes the fruit to get it nutrition. 

      It was important to remember that bitterness is a universal sin.  That means that everyone at one time or another has this sin come into his or her lives.

      When I was young, Mom run us out of bed early in the morning before it got hot and hoe the weeds out of the garden.  She told us many times that we were to dig them up by the roots.  If we just chopped them down, those weeds would be back before the week was over.  Bitterness is the hidden sin from other folks.  

      I have pondered on this passage many times.  I was talking with someone and I could tell that this person did not just have the root of bitterness; they had the fruit to go with it.

      Without spending a great deal of time on the physical, I want to mention it in passing.  Bitterness as I said earlier is a universal sin.  Solomon tells us what happens when we put away sin from our lives.

                                                Proverbs 3:7-8

“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”

      If we allow sin to reign in our lives and that is exactly what bitterness does, then we affect the marrow of our bones.  When you affect the marrow of your bones, you affect the place where your body produces its blood supply.  When you affect your body supply, you affect every area of your body. Many of the physical problems you have may be traced back to this sin, the sin of bitterness.

      James Earls said this about bitterness.  “Bitterness is the only chemical that will destroy its own container- YOU.”  That is the truth if you have heard it!

      Let’s look at just two main points about bitterness.  If we can see what bitterness is and how to rid ourselves of it, then we can have victory in our walk with the Lord.

I.  RECOGNIZING THE ROOT OF BITTERNESS

                        There are three characteristics of a bitter person.

1. A person who is bitter is someone who is hurt deeply.  There are many reasons to be bitter but no excuse to be bitter.  The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself.  So let’s look at some folks in the Bible who had a reason to be bitter.

1. Job’s wife had reasons to be bitter.  One day, she had it all.  She had ten children, a husband with health and wealth and probably anything her heart desired.  One fateful day all that changed.  One day she is on the way to the cemetery with ten caskets in front of her.  A few days later, her husband who lost all is now stricken with the worst case of boils that a person could ever have.  It is from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.  I do not know if you ever had a boil or not, but I have.  I have had two serious ones in Bible College.  One of the most miserable a person can have is a boil.  I had one on my knee.  It caused my knee to swell to twice its normal size.  The same was true with the one on my hand.  In fact, it had to be lanced.  Job’s wife wants to end her misery.  If you ever lost one child in death, then you could imagine her grief in just a small way over losing all ten of her children in death and all on the same day.  Even she tried to convince Job to curse God and die.  That was her bitterness talking.  She forgot that all she had came from the Lord.  Bitter people tend to do that.  They forget God.  Before getting too critical of Mrs. Job, we have gotten bitter over far less.
2. Naomi was bitter.  Why?  She made that long walk home after her husband sinned against God and left the land to go to Moab.  She changed her name to Mara that means bitterness.  She lost her husband and children.  She goes to Moab full and comes back empty. 
3. Joseph could have been bitter.  Think of his situation.  He is his father’s favorite.  He goes to deliver a message from his father.  They put him in a pit.  They planned to kill him.  But they could not bring themselves to do it.  So they sold him into slavery that was just as good as a death sentence.  Potiphar buys Joseph.  Potiphar realizes that this is a young man of character.  He put Joseph in charge of his house.  Then his wife sees this young man as a treat.  Joseph runs from her and she accuses him of attempted rape.  Potiphar has Joseph thrown into prison.  But Joseph still is not bitter. 

      Later Joseph interprets two men’s dreams.  The one fellow is set free and promised to get Joseph free.  But he forgets Joseph.  Does Joseph get bitter?  No!  He is trusting in God.  He believes God.  Later he is set free and comes second in command in the land of Egypt.  When his brothers comes to buy bread, he could have been bitter and released it but he saw God’s hand in all that was behind him.  Here is what he said after his father’s death. Genesis 50:20

“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

2. A bitter person is who like to involve others in their bitterness.  Misery loves company.  We find this in our text verses.  It is with these words: “thereby many be defiled”.  When you are bitter, you are really bitter toward God because He is sovereignty over all situations in our lives.

            He knows what diseases that come in our lives.  He knows the shape and size we are.  He knows all the tragedies that come into our lives.  He allows them to come into our lives.  He allowed all the events to occur in Job’s life.  Some read the book of Job and think the main meaning of the book is when bad things happen to good people.  If that is your take on the book, then you missed the main point on the book.  The main them of the book is the sovereignty of God.  He allowed these events to occur in Job’s life and showed Himself strong.

3. A bitter person will not easily admit that they are bitter.   If you ask them, they will deny that they are bitter.  Why?  Bitterness is underground and out of sight.  To further understand this you have understand the character of bitterness.

1. You have to plant the seed before this before it you can get roots. 
2. The roots come