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Alright, we're here in 2 Samuel 11. We're continuing our series on the alphabetic characteristics, and we're looking at bitterness for the letter B. Bitterness for the letter B. Now, for this series, we're looking at specific characters, and we're going to see how this characteristic affects that character through time. And today's is a little bit different because the character, for most characters, I'm going to look at famous characters that are pretty well known. But Ahithophel is probably not the most well-known character in the Bible. He appears basically for three chapters, from 2 Samuel 15 to 17. And unless you're paying close attention or you've heard this preached before, you kind of wonder, like, what is this guy's deal? Like, he hates David so much. He's so angry and bitter toward David. And I remember reading the Bible several times, I'm just thinking, he comes out of nowhere. Why? But he actually doesn't really come out of nowhere when you pay close attention to the Bible. And so this is not the main part of our sermon, 2 Samuel 11, but there's a couple verses we need to look at to understand the root cause here. Now, bitterness, what is it? It's anger and disappointment and resentment that basically never goes away. It never fades. Where basically you're upset about something, and it can be something from 20 years ago or 10 years ago or 5 years ago, but it's something that goes down on the inside, and every once in a while it comes to the surface because you're bitter. You're still not letting things go. Now, notice here verse number 1, 2 Samuel 11 verse 1, and it came to pass after the year was expired at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Reba, but David tarried still at Jerusalem. And so there's a time that kings go to battle, but David doesn't go. He stays home. He's being lazy. What's the result? And it came to pass in an evening tide that David arose from off his bed and walked upon the roof of the king's house. Now, why is David walking on a roof at nighttime? He cannot sleep. Why? The sleep of a laboring man is sweet. So if you're hard working and you work hard during the day, isn't it true you just kind of fall asleep? But on days that you kind of sit around on social media all day and play games, it's like 10 o'clock at night, 11, 12, I can't sleep, right? And David can't sleep because he's usually a hardworking person. He's being lazy, and then he can't sleep, and he goes and he walks on a roof. And from the roof he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. Now, in this story I don't really think Bathsheba's done anything wrong. I think she's, you know, she's not expecting a guy to be on a roof to be able to see her, and that is actually what's taking place. So that's my opinion about that. The Bible doesn't really tell us fully. But David sees this woman, and the same sort of example would be like a guy that's being lazy and he sits around, he starts watching porn because he's doing nothing all day long. Just sitting on his computer playing video games and watching videos all day long, nothing to do, sitting around, getting into trouble. And look, whether you're a man or a woman, if you are not being busy and hardworking, the expression in idle mind is the devil's workshop. If you're not working hard, you're going to get into trouble, whether you're a man or you're a woman, that's just the way it works. The Bible says that he sees her, then in verse 3, and David sent and inquired after the woman, and one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliim, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? Now, when you see verses like this, you can tell this was written by God, because there's a very, very, very important detail in this verse that you would read over and not think about, and that's this expression, the daughter of Eliim. Why does the Bible mention that? Why is that important? Keep your finger here and go to 2 Samuel 23. Bathsheba is the daughter of Eliim. You say, Okay, what's your point? Who's Eliim? 2 Samuel 23, verse 34. And the Bible says in 2 Samuel 23, verse 34, Eliphelet, the son of Ahizba, the son of the Megathite, Eliim, and that's the father of Bathsheba, Eliim, the son of Ahithophel, the Gileanites. When you see Ahithophel pop on the scene in 2 Samuel 15, and 16, and 17, he has so much anger and rage toward David, and you're thinking, What's your deal? I mean, not everyone likes the king, but he has this special hatred, and it doesn't seem to make sense until you realize he's the grandfather of Bathsheba. I mean, it makes it very obvious what he thinks of the whole Bathsheba and Uriah situation, and you realize that he was actually pretty close to the situation with David. We're going to look at him later on in the sermon, but that's a very important detail to understand, that he's actually related to Bathsheba. He is the grandfather of Bathsheba. Go back to 2 Samuel 11, 2 Samuel 11. See, point number one is the reason for bitterness. Why does Ahithophel have this bitterness toward David? Well, he probably liked Uriah. He doesn't want Bathsheba to be one of the wives of David, right? He likes Uriah. He likes Bathsheba. He's happy for them being married, and he doesn't want David ruining that. David ruined his family tree, and here's the thing. It reminds you of what the Bible says, none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. The actions you do affect other people. You say, well, I'm just only affecting myself. You are not just affecting yourself. Anything you do in life, whether good or bad, they affect other people, right? Because David's probably thinking, this affects Bathsheba and Uriah, but what about Ahithophel? He probably didn't think about that, and any actions you do, whether good or bad, they affect other people. If you stop going soul winning, others will stop. If you get on fire for God, others will get excited. The actions you do affect other people, whether you realize it or not. The Bible says in verse 3, 2 Samuel 11, verse 3, and David had sinned and inquired after the woman. So he's saying, who is this woman? The person says, and one said, is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliim, the wife of Uriah, the Hittite. This servant of David, he's kind of subtly trying to rebuke David without getting in trouble. He's saying, okay, here's her name. Okay, she is the daughter of Eliim, which obviously David knows who Eliim is. We're going to see later on that Ahithophel is the chief counselor of David, so he probably knew Eliim pretty well as well, and then he says, hey, this is not a single person. This is a man's wife. It's kind of like retreat David. Think again. Wrong choice. And he's subtly saying, hey, this woman is off limits, David. You wanted me to inquire and ask about her. Okay, she is not the woman for you, David. Move on to the next person. And David sent messengers and took her. And she came in unto him, and he lay with her, for she was purified from her uncleanness, and she returned unto her house. Now, look, we don't really know what Bathsheba thinks of this whole situation. Obviously, if somebody's in a position of power, she can feel influenced or have trepidation or fear if she doesn't go along, but she's still guilty even though David is probably a lot more guilty in this situation. And so David and Bathsheba do this horrible thing, and the question is, well, what does Ahithophel think of this? Because this is the guy that we're looking at here today. Obviously, he doesn't agree with this. I mean, Ahithophel is a man that's a very wise man, and when you're reading about Uriah, which we're about to do, Uriah is a man of character. He's a man of integrity. And here's the thing. Uriah and Bathsheba, I mean, they don't have kids yet, so they're probably kind of newly married, and your first couple years of marriage, you fight a lot. There's a lot of problems, right? Because you're trying to figure things out. You're trying to learn how to be a good husband and a good wife, and it's very possible, given what Bathsheba does and the fact Uriah does not go home to his wife when he gets the opportunity, that maybe they had some marriage problems. But here's the thing. I'm sure Ahithophel realizes everybody struggles their first few years of marriage, and then you figure things out, and then you learn through it. But David coming into the picture, and then Bathsheba becomes one of the wives of David? Who has a dream for their daughter to be one of the wives of another man? Or their granddaughter to be one of the wives of another man? Nobody has that desire. You think I want Christabel to marry someone who's going to have five wives? So of course Ahithophel is upset about it. Of course he's mad about it. Verse number 5, and the woman conceived and sent and told David and said, I am with child. And so now David's got a problem on his hands because he's thinking, you know, we just did this one time. We can forget about it, except that now she's pregnant. Now she is with child, and now you've got a problem because Uriah's going to come home from battle and be like, who's the father? Because I've been gone. Verse number 6, and David sent to Joab saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did and how the people did and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. And so David's just trying to get him to go home with his wife because he figures, okay, Uriah and Bathsheba, they'll sleep together. He's going to think it's his baby, right? That's what his plan is. And then it says here in verse 9, But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. Now there are two possibilities that are going on here. Number one is that Bathsheba and Uriah, they have problems in their marriage, and I think that's probable given the circumstances we see in this chapter. The second thing, which is also probably true, actually it's certainly true, you cannot stop the judgment of God. David is trying to cover up the law of you reap what you sow, but you can't. It's impossible. You will reap what you've sown. You cannot stop it. It is impossible. You can do whatever you want logically speaking. You will reap what you've sown as a saved person. It's going to take place. You cannot cover it up. And it says here in verse number 10, When they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, cameest thou not from thy journey? Why then didest thou not go down unto thine house? And Uriah said unto David, The ark in Israel and Judah abide in tents, and my Lord Joab, and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go into mine house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As thou liveth and as I so liveth, I will not do this thing. So Uriah is showing he has integrity. Now to be honest, if I had been gone in the war for six months, I would just go home to my family and sleep in a nice bed. But Uriah has a lot of integrity. He has a lot of character, and he says, I'm not going to do this while the other men are not sleeping at home. They're still fighting in a battle, and even though I'm not on the battlefield, it would be wrong for me to do this. Well, David's got a problem on his hands, doesn't he? Uriah is not going to be with his wife now. And David said to Uriah, Terry here today also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day and tomorrow. And so now David's trying to hatch up a plan. How do I get Uriah to sleep with his wife? I've got to cover up the evidence. Then it says in verse 13, and when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him, and he made him drunk. So he figures, well, when you're drunk, you kind of lose your integrity. Right? I mean, if he gets drunk, he's going to go home with his wife, he's going to sleep with his wife, and I can cover it up. And at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his Lord, but went not down to his house. Verse number 14. And it came to pass in the morning that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. So David writes a letter to give to Joab, and he gives it to Uriah to send it. This letter is not intended for Uriah. It's meant for Joab to read, which means he's sending it to Uriah, and he's expecting Uriah's not going to read the letter. And here's the thing. He has to trust that Uriah has integrity, that he's not going to read the letter. Especially when you see the details in verse 15. And he wrote in the letter saying, set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him that he may be smitten and die. So David gives Uriah a letter, and in the letter it says, put Uriah to death, and Uriah is the one that delivers that to Joab. So David trusts Uriah has so much integrity and character, he will not look at the letter. I promise you a lot of people would have looked at that letter. But he realizes Uriah's not going to look at the letter because he's a man of integrity and character. I mean, this is an astonishing verse when you think about it. David has Uriah deliver a letter of Uriah saying, yeah, here's a letter Joab. And Uriah has no idea. It's like, kill Uriah. Now I don't know if Joab read this in front of him, but I'd imagine if he did, it would be like, I mean, it's like he delivered the letter to put himself to death. And so here's what you see about Uriah. Was he a perfect husband? I'm sure he wasn't. But he was a man of integrity. He's a man of character. He was a good man for Bathsheba to be married to. It's obvious that's what Ahithophel thought as well. I'm sure Ahithophel loved his granddaughter Bathsheba and he was so happy that she married a man of integrity and character. When I think of my kids that are going to grow up, I want them to marry someone who loves God. I don't care if they marry someone that's rich. I care that they marry someone that's going to love them and has integrity and character. And I'm sure that's the way Ahithophel thought of his granddaughter. And she married someone who had integrity and character, a valiant man. And then David screws it all up for the family of Ahithophel. Go to 2 Samuel 12. 2 Samuel 12. Now it's important for us to understand something before we look at 2 Samuel 12. What's the normal punishment for adultery and murder in the Bible? Of which both those things David was guilty of. The death penalty. In God's land and in God's country under God's perfect law, that would have been the punishment. In fact, I'm sure David would have inflicted that punishment on others that were guilty of that. Of course, David doesn't do that to himself. That is the worthy punishment. Now notice 2 Samuel 12. When Nathan rebukes him in verse 11, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor. And he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of his son, for thou didst it secretly. But I'll do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die. Why does Nathan say that to David? Because when David was living in sin, he didn't really think about it. And now he's the king. He's the leader. But all of a sudden he gets right with God. It's like, wait a minute. I deserve the death penalty. Nathan said, don't worry. God's not going to have you put to death. God decided to be merciful. Now I'll be honest with you. When I read this story, this is not what the judgment I would have given. I feel like it's unfair to Uriah. In my flesh and in my wisdom, it doesn't seem right. I'm like, why are you merciful to David and not to others? But this was God's choice. And here's the thing. I'm wrong and God's right. And to some of you, as we read this story and look at this, you read this, you say, it's not fair. It's not right. He should have been put to death. That's what he deserved. But God decided to be merciful. You know, one character in the Bible that did not agree with God's decision is Ahithophel. But here's the thing. When God determined to be merciful, Ahithophel needed to accept that. God said mercy. Ahithophel needed to accept that. But he does not accept the judgment of God. Now, this is not an event that people are unaware of. People know this event. Because remember, Bathsheba gets pregnant. And what it says here in the next verses, And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die, howbeit because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord of Blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. It's given occasion to the enemies of the Lord of Blaspheme because everybody knows about this. Everyone's going to find out David killed one of his military men and married his wife. Everybody's going to find out. Guess who would have found out? Ahithophel. Ahithophel knows what happened. And of course, I'm sure his granddaughter told him what happened. And I'm sure he knows that Nathan rebuked David. And he knows that God determined for mercy. And here's the thing. The Bible says vengeance belongeth unto me. I will recompense, saith the Lord. And here's the thing. When God determines something, we have to accept what he says. Maybe you have an enemy in life or someone that's done you wrong, and you're mad, and you're angry and resentful, and you never let go of those feelings. But if God determined for mercy, that's God's decision. And you have to accept the decision that God has given. Now look, I'm not the grandfather of Bathsheba. When I read this, I understand why Ahithophel's upset. I mean, there's a reason for bitterness. I mean, David destroyed the family of Ahithophel. I mean, I understand why he's mad. I understand why he's upset. I understand why he doesn't get over it. It's said that 17 years go by from chapter 11 to chapter 15 as we pick up the story in Ahithophel, I get that you never got over to Ahithophel. There's a reason for bitterness. And look, if you're in this room, and you're really bitter about something, and you won't let something go, I'm sure you have a reason for it. I'm sure there's a reason why you're upset. Nobody gets upset for no reason. I'm sure that it's hard to get over. I'm sure that you don't want to get over it. I'm sure that you want to see that other person harm. That's why you're bitter. There's a reason for bitterness for Ahithophel. Turn to 2 Samuel 15. 2 Samuel 15. We said number one, the reason for bitterness. I mean, Ahithophel, what's the reason? Because David destroyed his family. I'm sure Ahithophel's thinking, because Ahithophel we're going to see is the counselor of David. It's like, any other woman, why did you mess up my family? Right? You know me. You know my son. Why'd you have to come into our family? Why not somebody else's family? There's a reason why Ahithophel is bitter. I mean, it makes sense once you understand that he's related to Bathsheba. Point number two, the result of bitterness. What's the result of bitterness? 2 Samuel 15, verse 12. We're going to see the introduction of this character. And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor from his city, even from Gilo, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong for the people increased continually with Absalom. Now of course, Absalom's one of the sons of David, and Absalom rises up in rebellion versus David. So it's Absalom versus David. And then Ahithophel ends up, it says David's counselor. You say, what does that mean, Brother Stuckey? It means that when David wanted godly advice, he wanted godly wisdom, he wanted spiritual counsel, he went to Ahithophel. I mean, this is remarkable when you're understanding the characters. I mean, for over a decade, David would go to Ahithophel and get advice, and on the inside the whole time Ahithophel's thinking, you know what, when I get the opportunity to kill you, I'm going to kill you. Well, actually giving him good advice. Because in my opinion, it is very clear Ahithophel was a saved person. We're going to see the end of Ahithophel, but he joined Samson and King Saul of those saved people that end their own lives. I think it's very obvious. I mean, he was a chief counselor, the spiritual counselor to David, giving good and godly advice. Why? Because he's a wise person. He knew the scriptures. He knew the Word of God. But the whole time he had this bitterness toward David, and he sides with Absalom. Verse 31, And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. David says this because he knows Ahithophel's the wisest person. Everybody follows his advice. He's thinking, man, if Ahithophel's on the side of Absalom, I'm in trouble because he has wise advice. He's going to give the counsel that could be difficult for us. It's like we're in trouble unless God turns over it into foolishness. 2 Samuel 16, verse 15. And I don't have time to go through all these chapters. This is a character that's not the most famous, so I'm kind of hitting some highlights. The last point we're going to spend the most time on as we look at how to get over bitterness. But 2 Samuel 15, And Absalom and the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. Now go to verse 20. Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in under the father's concubines which he hath left to keep the house, and all Israel shall hear that thou art a horde of thy father. Then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong. So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house, and Absalom went on to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. Now the advice Ahithophel gives to Absalom is not godly counsel. He's used to giving godly counsel. This is very sinful counsel, but it's going to get the job done for what Absalom wants and what Ahithophel wants. He's trying to turn people against David. Verse number 23, And the counsel of Ahithophel which he counseled in those days was this, If a man had inquired at the oracle of God, so was all the counsel of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom. Second Samuel 17, Moreover, verse one, Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night. Now here's the thing. Ahithophel is a wise person, and obviously he's not right with God right now, but he's usually very close to God, I believe, and a wise person makes wise decisions. He makes smart decisions. Now when somebody's filled full of bitterness, which Ahithophel is, they do things and say things that are foolish. When you let emotion guide your life, you will do foolish and stupid things. And when you stop and look at this verse and the next verse, Ahithophel gives very foolish counsel here. I mean, what he's saying doesn't make any sense. I don't know how old Ahithophel is, but he's not a young man. He is the grandfather of Bathsheba. Over a decade has gone by, and he's going to be the one that leads the battle to fight David? It's like you're a 90 year old man. What are you talking about? Now he could give like smart advice from, you know, advice, but physically you can't do it anymore. You're an old guy. You don't have the ability to go out and fight a battle. I mean, what are you doing? I mean, it's just a fact. He's obviously not a young person at this time. He's not going to fight David and win the battle. He's going to die. I mean, think about this. David or one of his men is going to kill Ahithophel. This is foolish. It doesn't make any sense, but when you're filled full of bitterness, you make choices that do not make sense. Verse number two, and I will come upon him while he was weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid, and all the people that are with him shall flee, and I will smite the king only. Now you see the bitterness in Ahithophel here. He's saying, I'm going to come, everyone's going to go, and I want to kill him right before my eyes. I'm going to make you feel the same pain that I felt when you put my grandson-in-law to death, and you destroyed my family. You can see the bitterness here in this verse, and it makes sense when you understand the background, but at this point, Ahithophel's not a young guy. David's not a young guy either. This is like in 2023, you know, Arnold Schwarzenegger fighting Sylvester Stallone. It's like, that should have been 40 years ago, right? Or what is it? Mark Zuckerberg fighting Elon Musk as they're talking about. It's like, this battle's not for you, right? It's like, you're an old man at this point. This doesn't make any sense. You're not going to be able to do this, but here's the thing. He doesn't care. He wants to kill David. He doesn't care who wins the battle. This is a guy that I believe was very close to God, and he doesn't even care which side is right because he knows Absalom's wicked. He knows what Absalom is doing is wrong, but he doesn't care because this is his opportunity to kill David. What's this called? Bitterness. See, with Samson last week, we talked about anger, and with Samson, it came out of nowhere, right? Just a very angry person with a big temper, but this is something that dwells on the inside of you that never goes away, and Ahithophel has this bitterness. He counsels David week after week after week, and on the inside the entire time while acting like he wasn't upset, acting like he was okay with what took place, he just wanted to kill David. Now, when you think about it, it's very foolish because think about this. What was the son of David that becomes the next king? Solomon. That's the great-grandson of Ahithophel. You're siding with the guy trying to take away the kingdom from your relative. It doesn't make any sense, but when you're filled full of bitterness, a wise person will act like an idiot. Look at verse number 14. 2 Samuel 17, verse 14. 2 Samuel 17, verse 14. And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel, for the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom. So God turns the wisdom or the advice of Ahithophel into foolishness. God sides with David against Absalom. Now look, what David did was horrible, but in this situation Absalom is wrong and David is right. And by siding with Absalom, who's doing wrong just because David is your common enemy, you're against God at this point. You're on the wrong side of the battle. Isn't this what you see sometimes with preachers that preach against the LGBT, and Baptists will side with the LGBT against the preacher that's preaching against the wickedness? It's like, what in the world? But that's what we're seeing here with Ahithophel. Then it says here in verse 21, And it came to pass after they were departed that they came up out of the well and went and told King David and said unto David, Arise and pass quickly over the water for thus hath Ahithophel counseled against you. Then David arose and all the people that are with him and they passed over Jordan by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan. And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he sat on his ass and arose and got him home to his house to a city and put his household in order and hanged himself and died and was buried in the sepulcher of his father. What's the result of bitterness with Ahithophel? He kills himself. He realizes God is against me, so I'm done. I'm like a dead man walking. I'm just going to kill myself and end it right now. Now, if you've been sowing with me before and as I talk about suicide to unsaved people, you'll hear me say sometimes there's three people in the Bible that committed suicide, Samson, King Saul, and Ahithophel that went to heaven because I am fully persuaded that Ahithophel was a saved man. The armor bearer of Saul could have very well been saved. We really don't know. But with Ahithophel, I think it's pretty obvious because David gets right with God and for over a decade Ahithophel is his counselor. You're not going to get counsel from ungodly, wicked, unbelievers. So I think Ahithophel is a saved man, and this story is meant to teach us the danger of bitterness toward even a saved person. It can lead to your ultimate destruction. The result of bitterness is it destroys the life of Ahithophel. Go to Proverbs chapter 14. Now, I want to take some time to help you understand philosophically what bitterness is. It is different than the rest of the characteristics we're going to look at. It is very different, okay? And I'm going to give you some verses that show us this and we can understand it, but let me give you some practical examples to get it. Let's say you have person A and you have person B, and these two people are friends and person A jokes about person B and person B gets offended. This is a common thing that takes place all the time. You're telling jokes and then you offend your friend by a joke, and person A can tell person B is offended, and they say, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that about you, it was wrong. And person B says, let's just forget about it, but person B does not forgive person A. What he does is he takes this memory and he puts it into his subconscious. So it's not at the forefront of his mind, it's just in the back of his head and it's still there, but let's just forget about it. Six months later, person A makes fun of person B. Same sort of thing. And when person B hears it, it's not just that one joke from six months later, the first one is like a fresh wound that took place because he never got over it. And it went from the subconscious right back to the forefront of his mind, and then he's upset about something, not just from the present, but six months ago. That's what bitterness is. Or examples you hear, they'll be like the class bully in high school, and he makes fun of the classmates. And 10 years later at the high school reunion, people see the bully and immediately when they see him, they say, I hate that person. And it's been like 10 years. The person could be completely different, but those memories that you've forgotten about, they're like a fresh wound that come back to your mind. I kind of have experience with this because I had a good friend of mine growing up, we used to hang out all the time. And for whatever reason, all of a sudden he just didn't like me anymore, and he would make fun of me on the school bus to everybody else around, and I didn't know what his deal was. I just was really mad at me, and it really made me, I mean, I was just a kid at the time, and you know what? Eventually we're no longer on the same bus after a couple months, so I just forgot about it. I saw the guy 10 years later, and I'd gotten saved just less than a year before, and I was at these Christian functions, and I saw this guy, and immediately when I saw him, I'm like, I hate that guy. And I remember, he came up to me and he said, I am so sorry about how I acted 10 years ago. I was young, I was stupid, I was foolish, and he apologized. But I hadn't thought about it in 10 years, and then when I saw him, it's like, I hate this guy. You say, what's that called? It's called bitterness that I did not even know existed inside of me. And what I'm saying is, I believe everybody in this room is probably bitter about some things, but you're probably not aware of it, because it's way down on the inside, and you've sort of forgotten about it, but not really. It's just buried deep inside. A great Bible example is Joseph. Joseph gets sold into slavery as a teenager, and he is so on fire for God when you're reading Genesis. He doesn't let anything seem to bother him. Sold into slavery, Potiphar's wife lies about him, he's thrown in prison. Everything's going great, and he could have lived the rest of his life very close to God without any problems. Then his brothers show up. What do you see in the next several chapters? You see Joseph becomes like his father, a liar, Jacob. He starts lying. He throws them in prison for a few days to make them feel the same pain that he felt. He says he can divine, which is something a sorcerer does. Saying he's a sorcerer, I mean, that's obviously wrong to say. He basically is trying to kidnap Benjamin and get rid of the rest of them, and he doesn't want to see his brothers. I mean, he was so close to God, and this bitterness comes to the front of his mind, and he does not forgive them. He's mad. He's angry. Now to me, Joseph is the ultimate story of forgiveness because he did not want to forgive, but he does eventually forgive. But when you're reading Genesis, I don't think you can read it and say that he forgives his brothers when he first sees them. He doesn't. It takes a long time where he finally gets over it. You say, why? It's bitterness. Thoughts that were 20 years in the past, they come to the front of their mind. It's the same reason why in marriage, when husbands and wives fight, you always do this. So you're throwing things from years in the past back to the present because you didn't actually forgive, because you're bitter about it. You hang on to things from the past, and then it destroys your life. What bitterness is is something that you never get over, but you throw it into your subconscious. The problem is it might come back to the front of your mind, and then you've got a major, major problem. The Bible says in Proverbs 14 verse 10, the heart knoweth his own bitterness, and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy. Now look, if you've got bitterness about something, if you've got bitterness toward someone, deep down on the inside, you do know it. The heart knoweth his own bitterness. You say, but Brother Stuckey, you're saying this, and I cannot think of things right now that I'm bitter about. Yeah, because the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Your heart lies to you. It deceives you. It's tricking you. It's making you feel like everything's okay, or that you're justified in your feelings, so you're not thinking about it. That's what the heart does. I mean, isn't the advice from 90% of the world, just follow your heart? That is the worst advice you could give somebody. I would never give that advice to people, because your heart is going to trick you and lie to you, and the heart knows it's bitter, and if you have bitterness toward someone or about something, you do know it, but it's way down on the inside, and right now, your heart's telling you, Brother Stuckey's wrong. No, you're not bitter. Brother Stuckey's wrong, right? Your heart is lying to you. That's the reality. Your heart will lie to you to make you think everything's okay. In my opinion, every single person probably struggles with bitterness in various ways, whether you realize it or not. I saw someone I hadn't seen in 10 years, and all of a sudden, these emotions come up I didn't even know existed. I'd forgotten about them, but they were down there on the inside, or some people have this idea, well, I forgive, but I don't forget, so you don't forgive. What you're saying is, I'll throw it into the back of my mind, and if necessary, it will come up one day. See, with God, He says that when we're forgiven, our sins are cast behind His back. They're as far as the east is from the west. He's saying, they're gone, and if you really forgive, you also forget. That's what the Bible teaches. Now, we saw the reason for bitterness for a Hiffelpelt. It makes sense. I mean, I understand why he's mad. I've never had anything like this happen in my life, and it would be very, very, very hard to get over. Number two, the result of bitterness, he commits suicide. That's the end of the life of a Hiffelpelt. I mean, this is a guy that was the counselor of David. He's probably one of the wisest men who ever existed. He was a great man in the Bible, but that's not how we remember him. We remember him, and look, I believe very firmly he's saved, but of course, you know, most people don't even believe a Hiffelpelt's in heaven, because they don't think people that commit suicide go to heaven. Of course, we know that's a false teaching, but here's the thing. I know a Hiffelpelt as a guy who was a great character. Most people wouldn't know that. When they're reading 2 Samuel, they probably think he's a horrible person, when in reality, he probably was actually very close to God at one point. It's very interesting, because there's that reunion of a Hiffelpelt and Uriah and David in heaven. It's very interesting, right? But what is the remedy for bitterness? And I want to spend most of the time on this point. What is the solution, the gamut, the remedy? How do you fix bitterness? Well, point one under the remedy for bitterness is you must recognize there's a problem. Go to James 3. James 3. You must recognize there is a problem. You can't fix something if you're not aware of it. James chapter 3, verse 14. And remember, we saw verses very specific about the heart and bitterness. And James 3, verse 14. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. The Bible's saying if you've got envy and strife on the inside of your hearts, do not lie against the truth, meaning you come in contact with the truth. It's right here. You know that you're guilty about something. You need to make a change. Don't lie against the truth. Do not deceive yourself. Now, your heart's telling you, hey, don't listen to that, because your heart's trying to deceive you. The Bible says do not lie against the truth. Then it says in verse 15, this wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For envying and strife is, there is confusion in every evil work. Now, here's the thing. You said, Brother Stuckey, you believe everybody's bitter, but I can't think of things I'm bitter about. Yeah, because of the fact those memories are not fresh in your head. But here's the thing. You might come to a point where you remember those things, and you realize, oh, wait a minute. I do have a problem with bitterness. How do we come in contact with the truth according to the Word of God? Well, we do that by, number one, reading the Bible. Go to Deuteronomy 17, reading the Bible, memorizing the Bible, and you come in contact with the truth and what's inside of your heart via the preaching of God's Word. The Bible says as you're turning to Deuteronomy 17, Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee. If you want to fix the sin and problems in your heart, memorize the Word of God. It's the medicine that is going to fix it. Now, here's the thing. This is not what people do. People do not fix the inside. They don't fix their heart, and they wait till there's major problems, and they try to fix the problems. Why not just fix it on the inside, and it will avoid a lot of the problems? I'll give you an example. When I was in college, I got a staph infection in my leg. I still have a scar from it, and I didn't want to go to the doctor's because I don't like going to the doctor's. I believe that, you know, going to the doctor's is a smart thing, but I'm just stubborn, and it's just not something I do until it's like I've got a major problem, and I remember my friends in college said, you got to go to the doctor's. It's like, you know, you got a major problem, and I remember I went, and of course, you know, at the doctor's they told me, yeah, this is what happens when you don't go in to fix a minor problem. Now it's a major problem. So they had to cut open my leg, not like a major surgery, but they, you know, so I didn't feel any pain, and then they cut it open, you know, and everything, and what they did is they put a sharp object inside of my leg, and then after every several days, they pulled it out a little bit. You say, why? Because it must heal from the inside out. Otherwise, it could heal on the outside, and I've got a major infection in my leg, and then who knows? So the point of the sharp object is that as you slowly pull it out, only the part on the inside is healed, and then it slowly comes out until your whole leg is healed. Here's the thing. That's what we need to do spiritually, fix things on the inside. This is not what people do, though. They want to lie to themselves and think everything's okay. They've got all of these problems in their life, and they're trying to fix this and this and this and this. It's like, yeah, you need to fix your heart. Start memorizing the Bible. Start reading the Bible. Notice Deuteronomy 17 verse 19. And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them. Notice this, that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren. See, when you recognize the problem, you got to fix it. And how do you recognize the problem? How do you come in contact with the truth? Well, one way is when you read the Bible, when you memorize the Bible. Sometimes when I read the Bible and I memorize the Bible, I read verses, and it reminds me of things in my life I need to change. Sometimes it reminds me of people that maybe I'm not 100% okay with, and I'm thinking, I got to fix this. Now go to Luke 8. Another way, so number one, read and memorize the Bible underneath recognizing your problem. And number two, react correctly to the sermons. Don't lie against the truth. It's foolish. If you have a mirror at your house, it's a waste of space if you don't make the change after you see what's in the mirror. And the Bible is like the mirror of God's Word. Now with preaching, I use a lot of verses in my sermons. And I basically am preaching it, and the sword is going to the inside. It's like, as I said, it's like surgery. It's spiritual surgery when the Word of God is preached. The Bible says the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. You see, the preaching of God's Word, it gets down to your heart that is lying to you and destroying your life. And all of a sudden, it manifests to you what your heart is really like. Isn't this true? You hear certain sermons, and you walk in. You think everything's okay. You're spiritual. You hear the sermon, and it's like, ouch. I got a lot of changes to make. Right? I mean, all of us feel that way. You think it hurts hearing the sermon. Imagine writing the sermon. It's like, oh, man. Right? Because it's not like I'm innocent of everything that I preach about. Paul talked about I'm guilty of the things that I preach about, and as a preacher, it's not like I'm perfect. I have issues in my life. These sermons are good for me, too, because we all struggle with bitterness. And if you say, well, I don't struggle with bitterness at all, you are being stubborn and foolish right now. Every single one of us needs to fix our heart. And the Bible says here in Luke 8, verse 15, but that on the good ground are they which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. Now, it's important to understand that in this parable, this is not a salvation parable. There are three groups of people that are saved. And in verse 15, it's not saying, well, if you're really saved, you bring forth fruit with patience. It's referring to somebody being a soul winner. And so when it says having heard the word, that is not a reference to when you hear the gospel and get saved. What it's saying is, because look, if a person gets saved and never reads the Bible and never hears the word of God preached, is that enough to become a soul winner? No, you got to hear the word of God preached. You got to read the Bible, right? So what it's saying is every time you hear the word of God, have an honest and a good heart to what you hear. Having an honest heart would be like, do not lie against the truth. So when you hear the word of God, be honest with yourself. When you realize you're guilty about something, be honest. You got to recognize you have a problem. Well, I don't have any problems. Well, then you're going to just stay miserable your whole life. You see, if you recognize your problem, it gives you a chance to fix it. But if you're going to be stubborn and not admit that you have problems, I'm not bitter about anything. I don't have a problem with them. Then why do you always talk about how you hate that person? Obviously you do. Gun your eye with Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. So number one, recognize you have a problem. And a good way to do that is by reading and memorizing the Bible and by hearing sermons and react properly to what you hear. Or it could be you come in contact with the high school bully after 20 years, and you see them and you're like, I hate that person. And what that's revealing is actually I have bitterness toward this person, and I need to resolve it. Because if you don't resolve these things, they're just going to come to the surface again. So number one, recognize your problem. Number two, realize it is destroying you. A person can understand they're a drunk without realizing it's destroying them. A person can understand that they're guilty of something without really thinking it's a big deal. Yeah, you know what? I'm bitter, so what? What about the result of a hit the felt? I mean, if you directly talk to a hit, because I'm sure Bathsheba probably knew. And I mean, it's just like, so what? So I'm mad. I'm not happy about it. It's like, because it's destroying you. Right? I mean, it's resulting in your, and it resulted in the ultimate destruction of a hit the felt. And look, if you have bitterness on the inside, it's also destroying you. It's said about bitterness that bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to fall over dead. I mean, every day you think about how much you hate that person. I hate them. They're the worst person. I want them to be destroyed. You realize that only destroys you. It doesn't destroy them. And look, David was very guilty, but he went about his life serving God. Now, he reaped what he sowed, no doubt about that. But he went about his life and was serving God, and his life was okay then. I mean, he was able to serve God, but a hit the felt was destroying himself, nobody else. Hebrews 12 verse 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. Now, the root of bitterness is signaling the fact this is in your subconscious. Right? It's way down on the inside, and it's possible it might spring up. It's kind of like this, a nonactive volcano. In a nonactive volcano, the lava's already there, the fire's there, and if God gets angry enough, then it's going to blow. And bitterness, it's there on the inside. The thing is, it might spring up. I mean, for Joseph, it sprung up when he saw his brothers after 20 years. And it's going to trouble you, and unfortunately, thereby many be defiled, because none of us liveth to himself. Now, here's what's interesting. I've heard sermons based on verse 15 that were good sermons about bitterness. I never really heard it tied together with the next verse. And you know, I'm in the process of finishing memorizing Hebrews, and you know, when you're memorizing, you read something over and over again, and then after a while, it's like, man, how did I never notice this? Verse 16 is directly connected to verse 15, because it's going to give you a character that also struggled with bitterness. And it says here in verse 16, lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Now, if I were to ask you this question, why did Esau want to kill Jacob? Everybody would say, because he pretended to be like Esau, and he stole the blessing. Wrong answer. According to Hebrews 12, 16, it goes back to the birthright that Jacob stole from Esau. You see, Esau never forgot about the time when he sold his birthright to Jacob. So when Jacob later on deceives and pretends to be Esau to steal the blessing, that root of bitterness from the past springs up, and it's not just one wound, it's two. You see, Esau would not have wanted to kill Jacob simply for stealing the blessing, but because the birthright, he was not over, it resulted in a double impact, and he wanted to kill Jacob. Now, what's interesting also about this is that according to these verses, it's not like Esau is innocent. The Bible says, lest there be any fornicator or profane person, and what it's basically saying is, hey, you know what, Esau, you're really bitter, but here's the thing. You sold your birthright because, oh, I'm hungry. So it's not like Esau is innocent, and here is the tough reality. For most situations that you're very bitter about, you are also partially responsible, and you are choosing to focus on the other person rather than taking the blame yourself when you are also guilty. That is usually the case with bitterness. Now, it's not always the case. Ahithophel wasn't responsible, but at the same time, why not put some blame on Bathsheba also, because it's not 100% David? Now, David, I mean, Ahithophel chooses to focus 100% on David. It's like, but what about Bathsheba? And in many cases in life, when we're bitter and we have these things of hatred, if we would be honest with ourselves, we'd realize, actually, you know what, I'm also partially to blame. And then maybe we could actually get over that bitterness. But the Bible says it will spring up and trouble you, and then many be defiled. What am I saying? I'm saying your bitterness is destroying you. You have to realize it's destroying you. When people get bitter, they want to stay bitter because they're so angry, and they want to keep that feeling. It's like drinking poison. It's not helping you. I mean, others around you, they might look at you. They see your bitterness. You're not aware of it, and then everyone else is like, hey, you're bitter. It's like, get over it. Forget about it. It reminds me of something recently, and we've solved the mouse problem in our house for now, but we had a mouse problem, and I was using poison because they were outsmarting everything, and one of the mice was so metakow that I was watching him eat the poison just a couple feet from me, and it's like bitterness. It's like, that's you. You're the mouse just eating that poison, and I'm thinking, you think that you got me, but I got you. And then sure enough, it died a few days later, right? That's what bitterness is like. You're like the mouse that is trapped by this thing, and you are just destroying yourself, and you don't realize it. Maybe you recognize that, yeah, you know what? You're bitter, but you don't realize there's a problem with it. You are destroying your life. Go in your Bible to James 4. James 4. James 4. James chapter 4. So number one, when it comes to the remedy for bitterness, recognize your problem, and you might not recognize it now. Maybe this preaching is jogging memories in your head that you're throwing to the back of your mind, and you're like, yeah, you know what? I got this issue that's unresolved that I haven't dealt with. Deal with that issue. I mean, if you can just forgive and forget, that's great, but sometimes you have to deal with stuff. You can't always just forgive and forget. Sometimes you can, and that's great, but don't lie to yourself if you're not able to do it and pretend that you are. Because the problem is, and look, this is extremely destructive in marriage because every husband and every wife does a million things wrong to each other over the course of a lifetime. And the thing is, if you don't forgive and forget these things and get over your bitterness, it's just going to keep coming up, and then it's like you see situations like Michael and David in the Bible. Because here's what's interesting about that story. She gets so mad at David, and David's like, I didn't do anything, and David's right. He didn't do anything, but it jogged the memory of the fact that he's married to multiple women. And so the thing is, sometimes in fights, you have a husband and wife, and your husband or your wife gets so mad, you're thinking, what did I do? But they're not actually mad about this. They've got bitterness on the inside that's springing back to the surface. Now, they might not admit that, but that's reality. That's why people throw things from five years in the past. You said this 10 years ago. Well, you did this. You did that. That's bitterness. That's the reality of our hearts. All of us, we struggle with these things. Right? I mean, when it comes to this series, I mean, I'm very excited about this series because honestly, I'm excited for myself because I realize I have areas in my life I need to fix. And the reality is, all of us, we are so far from God. We're not even close. Right? And when you come in contact with the truth, you've got to be honest with it. Recognize your problem. Realize it's destroying you. Request help from God, number three. And last, you want to get over your bitterness, request help from God. Pray to God and ask for help. Bible says in James 4, verse 1, from whence come wars and fightings among you, come they not hence even of your lusts that warn your members? Ye lust and have not. Ye kill and desire to have and cannot obtain. Ye fight in war. Remember the Bible spoke about envy and strife inside your hearts? It's not just, you know, a physical application. You can also apply it to the heart. And the Bible says here, ye fight in war, yet ye have not because ye ask not. Say, Brother Succy, there's people I don't forgive. There's people I'm mad at. I cannot get over it. I know I should. I know it's what the Bible says. I know others have gone through worse, and I cannot forgive. Did you stop and pray to God that you can get over it? I mean, this is something you can't get over. On a daily basis, you should be having that same prayer. God, help me overcome these feelings of hatred and bitterness and anger that I can't get rid of. Request help from God. Because here's the thing. I mean, if you're asking things on your own lusts, like, God, I want a brand new car. Well, of course He's not going to answer that. But if you're asking God for help overcoming bitterness, isn't that a good prayer request? Isn't that something God wants to honor? It's like, request help from God about it. Go to Matthew 6. We'll look at two more places. Matthew 6. Matthew 6. Matthew 6. Now, look, when you're requesting help from God, and when you see the model prayer here in Matthew 6, there's a few things we need to be reminded of. And I would say this, that when we pray to God, when I pray to God, one of the most common things that I pray about is that God will forgive me. And I'm sure that's probably true with all of us. And that's a good prayer request. But in the model prayer, it gives us a little bit more information. You have to realize, if you want God to forgive you, there's some requirements. Matthew 6, verse 12, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Look, if you want God to be merciful with you, the Bible says He'll show Himself merciful to those that are merciful. But to those that are froward, He's going to show Himself unsavory. If you want God to be merciful to you and God to be forgiving to you, you have to be forgiving to other people. And the thing is, when you're praying to God, it might remind you of the fact, I also have a lot of problems. I'm holding in all this bitterness about something that somebody did to me, and there's a reason. They did it. I'm mad about it. But when I really think about it, actually, I've done a lot of wrong things too. Pray to God. Request help from God. And realize that you also have major problems that you need to get over. Go to Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4. One practical thing that you can do is this as well. And I've heard this from pastors before, and I tried it, and it works. If you've got a major issue with someone that you don't like, feelings of resentment and anger and bitterness, actively pray for that person to be blessed. Pray for them. Maybe you know that person, and they're struggling in their job. Pray for them. It's amazing because as you're praying for them, your own heart is getting healed. It works. I mean, if somebody comes to your mind that you're really mad at, if you actually start praying for that person, it actually helps you recover your own heart. And here's the thing. Some of you are hearing this, it's like, oh, that sounds ridiculous. That's like a preacher's fairy tale. Try it out. Try it out this week. Those that you are bitter toward and mad about, you cannot forgive, start praying individually for that person, and you're going to find you start healing your own heart, which you never even realized it could do. And so ask God to help you recover while also forgiving others, and then also pray actively for that person. You're going to find that bitterness starts to go away. Now, I'm not saying it's easy. I've never gone through what Ahithophel went through. I've never gone through what Joseph went through. And look, I'm not sure if I could have reached a point like Joseph of forgiving. I don't speak on Joseph to criticize him because I think he handled it a lot better than I would. I'm just being realistic. This is what bitterness is. Things from your past, they come to the present, and you're mad about them. We'll close up here in Ephesians 4. The Bible says in Ephesians 4, verse 30, And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you're sealed unto the day of redemption. You say, Brother Stuckey, what does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit of God? Well, the Bible's saying you're eternally sealed. You're saved forever. So the thing is, when you do things that are wrong, when you commit sins, it's like the Holy Spirit is along for the ride. It'd be like, for example, if you're robbing a bank and your friend's in the car. It's like, hey, I don't want to do this. And they're along for the ride. And the Holy Spirit is along with the ride for you. You say, why? Because once saved, always saved. I mean, if you could lose your salvation and the Holy Spirit got grieved, it would just leave. But it can't because you are sealed onto the day of redemption. And in this list, notice the first thing mentioned in Ephesians 4, verse 31. Let all bitterness, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. I mean, if Hythril could have said, I'm bitter, I'm mad, it's not fair. And then God would say, but God has forgiven you when you didn't deserve it either. We don't deserve to be forgiven by God. We deserve to go to hell. And let's be honest. We sin against God every day. And we say, I'm sorry, God, forgive me. And guess what we do the next day? We sin again. And guess what we do the next day? We sin again. I mean, literally, we do this to God all the time. Every day we sin. And what does the Bible say? That his mercies are new every morning. And look, I get it, bitterness is very hard to get over. I mean, if you struggle with this, if you can think of things in your mind, it's one of the hardest things in life to get over. But look, you're just destroying yourself. You're the one drinking that poison. You're not harming that person. They go about their lives and they're perfectly fine. And you're the one that is keeping that on the inside. And the only one you're harming is yourself. You say, for a second, how do I fix this? You need to draw close to God. Read the Bible, memorize the Bible, listen to sermons, and apply what you hear. Be honest about the situation and ask God to help you. I mean, it's usually the same answer, isn't it? Read the Bible every day, have your personal time with God. I mean, that's the answer. And here's the thing. Three sermons a week are not enough for you to fix all the problems in your heart. They're not. Now, I'm not saying you need to listen to 20 sermons a week. What I'm saying is, hey, three sermons a week, but then read the Bible every day. That's what we need. Because here's the truth. You can be close to God. And if you don't spend your morning time with God the next day, you're angry very easily the next day. We need the spiritual breakfast every single day. You need it every single day. You say, why? Because we have a lot of problems. And look, when you're trying to heal something and fix it, it makes no sense to just always deal with the same problems. If you're seeing the same problem, you need to get to the inside. What's the root cause? And what I say many times for us, it's that root of bitterness that is springing up and troubling you. Let's close in word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and just getting to see this topic on bitterness. And I ask you to help all of us, including myself and my family, help us in the areas that maybe we're not even aware of that we're struggling with bitterness. Help us to get over things. Help us to forgive others. Help us to realize we've also done many things wrong before, God, and we don't deserve your forgiveness. But your mercies are new every morning, God. We ask you to have compassion with us as we have compassion with other people. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.