10 months ago

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Heart Issues – Part 1
Bitter Roots

By Pastor Gary Wayne

Text: Galatians 6:7-8, Hebrews 12:15, Luke 4:16-21

I want to talk about the roots of bitterness that can grow in our lives. And when they are present, the results are that it defiles many. Me, my family (wife, kids), close friends, etc.
So what are bitter roots? In plants, roots are the hidden structure which is a conduit for feeding the plant.

Everyone has a root system we drink from. It is the way we drink nurture from God and others. The roots are below the surface and are usually hidden from our mind.
How bitter roots from is when something hurtful happens and how we respond can then cause our root system we drink with to become bitter. So instead of drinking health to our system, bitter roots pass on bitterness. That is what Heb.12:15 is talking about.

There are four elements to help understanding this root, how it works, and how to break its hold and power in our lives.
1. Bitter Root Expectations
2. Bitter Root Judgments
3. Sowing and Reaping – What you sow, you will reap.
4. Fruit to Root - If you have the fruit – you have the root.

Bitter roots start by my sinful reaction to hurt, or my judgment of people, or my refusal to forgive someone.
This root system developed from pain now causes me to drink poison instead of nourishment.
Bitter roots are not the thing that happened to me, nor the sins of those who wronged me – they are the result of my sin. My fleshly response to pain.

Let me try and explain the difference between “bitter root expectations”, and “bitter root judgments.”
“Bitter root Expectations” are what I have come to believe will happen based on my experiences of pain. My expectations of how things will be.
I can never trust people. Women will always be critical. Men will always let you down. No on ever listens to me. My expectations shaped by the pain I have experienced.

“Bitter root Judgements” have to do with me breaking the natural laws of God – with sowing and reaping. Mt 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
Someone hurts me, and in my fleshly response, I judge them.
Mom is stupid. Dad is weak. Dad is mean. I can’t please him. What a looser.

Let me try and illustrate how Bitter root expectations are formed.
Let’s say you are a little girl in the 2nd grade, and every time the class gets in trouble as a whole, who is usually the source of the trouble? The boys. So she develops an expectations that boys will always cause problems.

Let’s say a man is brought up by a critical mother. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t seem to please her.
Feeling wounded and rejected, he learns to protect his heart by withdrawing.
His experiences with his mother form his picture of “women” and how they are going to be.

When he marries, and the newness starts to wear off, how does he expect his wife to be?
He expects and fears criticism and consciously or unconsciously projects his expectations onto his wife, holding her at a distance to protect himself.
If she appeals to him, confronting him with this problem, how is he going to interpret her action? She is being critical, and he pulls farther away.
Add to that our enemy re-enforces the lie I now believe.

Now this is just a small example of problems caused by bitter root expectations.
Let’s look at the added problem of bitter root judgments.

In the same scenario, underneath this man’s expectancy to be criticized is the fact that in early childhood he made a powerful, condemning judgment against his mother.
Nothing I ever do is good enough for her. Mom is mean. Mom is stupid, - maybe he dishonors her by openly by yelling at her or treating her disrespectful.
He soon forgets the judgments, but it has been sown as seed which will be reaped.
He will often begin to reap through his wife and other women what he experienced with his mother.
Because of the forgotten nature of the sowing, the reaping may come as a surprise to him.
Often adding to his expectations that the woman is the source of the problem.

Most often sowing and reaping of bitter root expectations and judgments happen in relation to parents and spouses, and sometimes primary people in our foundational years.

Prayer time.
I have learned, when something inside me isn’t right, I start by asking the Holy Spirit, “Where is this coming from?” And He begins the process of healing my wounded heart issues.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to let us see and recognize bitter roots.
Is there any expectations we have?
Holy Spirit help us see these wrong expectations we live with.

Is there a lie my heart believes as truth?

Is there Judgments we made? Holy Spirit bring back to our memory times we sowed seeds of Judgment.

Pray for forgiveness: I forgive ________ for ___________
Forgive me for seeds sown.
Forgive me for forming expectations.

Prayer for death of judgment and expectancy, habits, attitudes, reflexes.

Prayer for restoration and resurrection of life.
Lord reverse the old pattern and cause Your opposite to happen.

Holy Spirit be our alarm system – alerting us to patterns we have developed from bitter root expectations and judgments.

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