CUT the Bitterness of the Heart

Ephesians 4:31-32
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

TAB version: Ang lahat ng kapaitan, at kagalitan, at pagkakaalit, at kadaldalan, at panglilibak, ay mangaalis nawa sa inyo, pati ng lahat ng masasamang akala: At magmagandang-loob kayo sa isa't isa, mga mahabagin, na mangagpatawaran kayo sa isa't isa, gaya naman ng pagpapatawad sa inyo ng Dios kay Cristo.

• God has given us a new life to enjoy and to live in peace
• But some of us still cannot move on
• The reason why some cannot move on is because there is still a yoke of bitterness in their livesThey are imprisoned by their past pain and bitterness
• All of us has these pain and bitterness in the past but don't let these prevent us to move on and enjoy life God has given
• We have a choice, we can chose to be imprisoned by our pain and become bitter, or we can choose to be free and let God handles everything

Story of a young woman who once poisoned by her past

She had been married for several years but could not have a normal relationship with her husband. For some reason, she couldn't fully give herself to her husband. She loves him but she couldn't stand to make him close to her and have intimacy. This problem was destroying their relationship. She tried to change, but she couldn't do it. She asked God if what's wrong. Why she was acting that way? Why she can't be a normal wife? One day she had a dream, and it reminded what had happened to her when she was a young girl. She was a victim of rape before. And the anger and hatred for those boys who sexually assaulted her were buried in her heart and produced bitterness and was affecting her relationship with her husband. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but she recognized she had to deal with that unforgiveness, or she would never have a healthy relationship. So she decided to release all that hurt and pain. She said, "God, You know it wasn't right. You know what they did to me. But I'm not going to hold on to it any longer." She said, "I'm not going to allow the pain from the past to poison my present and my future. God, I forgive those boys right now."And from that moment, she was able to enjoy a healthy relationship with her husband. She couldn't change by dealing with the fruit; she had to get down to the root. And once bitter root was gone, she was able to break free from her past.

• Do not bury bitterness in your heart because it will produce bitterness
• Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many (Na pakaingatan na baka ang sinoma'y di makaabot sa biyaya ng Dios; baka kayo'y bagabagin ng anomang ugat ng kapaitan na sumisibol, at dahil dito'y mahawa ang marami;)
• Don't let bitterness take root. Cut the root immediately
• If you want to live the best life with God, CUT your bitterness

C - Check your heart

• Matthew 12:33 Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad, and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognize by its fruit
• If you experience bitterness in your life today, check your heart, maybe you have planted bitterness
• Check your heart, maybe you have unforgiveness, anger, hatred, etc...
• Check your heart, maybe your past is poisoning your present life
• Check your heart, you can have success on the outside, but if there is bitterness on the inside, it will waste your victory
• Check your heart, maybe you are chained by your bitterness
• Ask God's help to check your heart
• Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting

U - Unleash the chain of bitterness

• Eph. 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness...
• Unleash bitterness that is yoking you and causing you not to move freely
• Forgive those who hurt you, those who betrayed you, those who told lie about you
• For your emotional and spiritual health, let it go.
• Unforgiveness promotes sickness physically, emotionally, and spiritually
• When you don't forgive, you are not hurting the other person. You are not hurting God. You are hurting yourselves.
• Unforgiveness makes your prayer unanswered because God will not listen to you (lack of needs, no healing, financial problem, etc.)
• Matthew 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins
• The most unhappy people in the world are those who have unforgiveness in their hearts
• The bitterness is a chain that keep you from moving freely, so unleash it
  
• When you forgive, you are releasing the chain of bitterness in your life

T - Take your freedom

• Once you unleash your bitterness, you are now free
• Take the freedom, and enjoy the life God has set for us
• You can't do anything about past, but you can do something for today and in the future
• Don't look back anymore at your bitter past, you are now free.
• Enjoy your freedom.
• Enjoy your new life with God.

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By Roli S. Arangote