One night, Pastor Shetlard was home, and he said, I had an unusual block of time. Nobody was home, and it was very quiet. And he said, Ahithophel. He picked out the Strong's Concordance, and he traced the name Ahithophel through the Bible. And as only Pastor Shetlard can say, he said, that was unbelievable. He said, I was getting things out of his study. I couldn't believe it. It changed my life. And he shared it with us. And it was amazing. The message itself was just narrative form. He just kind of traced his way through the scripture. But what I learned from that person in Scripture was so powerful. I want you to trace this man through the Scripture by the name of Ahithophel. We're going to pick up this story in 2 Samuel 15, and in verse number 10. Would you stand with me as we read some from the Scripture tonight? 2 Samuel 15. I want to start off by reading three verses with you. If you don't have your Bible, look on with somebody who does, because I want you to see what God says tonight. Now, I'll tell you this, this is a biographical study, so we'll be tracing this man through the book of 2 Samuel. So get accustomed here to turning some pages and looking. Now, I would encourage you to do this. When I did the study on Ahithophel, I circled his name wherever I saw it. And you might want to do the same. And then I saw there was a phrase that showed up in connection with him all the time. It's the council of Ahithophel, or Ahithophel's council. And so I put double underlines under that phrase. And you may want to do something like that as we're studying him tonight. Let me start in verse 10, 2 Samuel chapter 15. But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then shall you say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem that were called. They went in their simplicity, and they knew not anything. And Absalom sent for Ahithophel, the Gelonite, David's counselor, from his city, even from Gilo, while he offered sacrifices. And this conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually. with Absalom. Now, Father, this is a mystery, this man's life. And it's amazing to me the clues that you give us in Scripture and the truth that we can glean from his life. I pray that you would use it tonight for our good. You've told us that the things which happened to them, the people of the Old Testament, were in samples to us. They're patterns, types, models. And in many cases, they were patterns of what not to do. I pray you'd help us to learn from this example tonight so we don't have to repeat his mistakes. I pray you'll work with clarity and power In Jesus' name, Amen. Thanks, you may be seated. I want to start tonight with a question. In fact, we're going to look at four questions in the message. We're going to look at who was Ahithophel, that's where we'll start. We'll look at what did Ahithophel advise, how was Ahithophel brought down, and why was Ahithophel like he was? Now, I'll give you those again, so don't try to jot them all down, but let's start with this one. This is a who, what, how, and why kind of message, alright? First of all, who was Ahithophel? Now, we just learned something about him here. First thing we learned about him, in verse 12, he was counselor to David. Did you notice that in verse 12? Absalom, let me back up a little, you remember, was one of David's offspring. He was one of his sons. You remember the story, David had multiple wives. He wasn't supposed to. The kings of Israel were forbidden from it, but he had multiple wives. And from one of those wives, he had a son named Absalom. And Absalom had a blood sister named Tamar. And you may remember there was a connection there. Because there was a half-brother, Amnon. And Amnon fell a lusting for his sister Tamar, or his half-sister Tamar. He wanted her. And Amnon's evil friend, Jonathan, said, well, if you want her, I'll tell you how to get her. And one day, He had him arranged so that Amnon was alone with the half-sister, and there was a horrible rape that occurred. And Amnon defiled his sister, and then she said, well, you might as well ask dad if I can marry you now. Then he wanted nothing to do with her. And Absalom was livid. He couldn't believe that his father did nothing. And so at Absalom's risk to his own future, he saw to it that Amnon was killed. And at that point, Absalom fled from Jerusalem. Joab was the man in charge of the king's armies. He was the general, if you will, the captain of the host. And one day he spoke up to the king. He said, King David, are you not going to bring Absalom back home? Some time had passed. And he thought there needs to be healing. There needs to be some restitution between father and son. So David sent for Absalom. And when Absalom came home, the father hugged his son. He even kissed him, as was the custom in the Middle East. And Absalom can tell there was nothing genuine about it. And he was all the more upset. And so here he is in Jerusalem. He used to position himself at the gate. And you remember the gate was where government matters were carried out. That's where official dealings went on. And when he was in the gate, people would come. They knew he was the king's son. And they'd say, well, here's my gripe. And they would vent to Absalom. And you remember what happened. He was constantly saying, oh, that I were king in Israel. And the Bible tells us that Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel. Now, there's a coup d'etat in the works. That's what's going on. And where you and I have just picked up, Absalom now, in his bitterness, is gathering together all these tribes from Israel and they're coming to Jerusalem and he's coming to take over. He's going to drive out his father. And what's intriguing in the middle of all this is here is Ahithobel. Now, he was David's counselor. And notice verse 12, the end of verse says, the conspiracy was strong for the people increased continually with Absalom. You find out he not only was counselor to David, but I want you to drop on down to verse 30, on down to verse 37, and you'll find out this, he is conspirator against David. Something else we'll learn about him. He's counselor to David, but he comes conspirator against David. Pick up in verse 30. And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet. Mount of Olives. Remember that's where Jesus went and prayed the night that he was betrayed. That's where he always went to pray in Jerusalem. Way back then, David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet. He wept as he went up. He had his head covered. He went barefoot. All the people that was with him covered every man's head. They went up weeping as they went up. 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. Let me just pause there a minute. That is a prayer I often pray with government officials. There are many of them that have an agenda that is completely against God. And I many times say, God, please turn their counsel into foolishness. And I, like Nancy Pelosi, she usually does a good job herself. But you know, I pray, God, turn their counsel into foolishness. And many others, I won't keep going down the list. But there are plenty of them that have an agenda opposed to God. And so I just pray, God, confound them. Just bring it to naught. Well, David, was concerned about a hit the bill because he was highly influential. He had had implicit trust in the hit the bill and now hit the bills of conspirator against David. Look at verse 32. Came to pass that when David was come to the top of the mount where he worshiped God, behold, who shy the archite came to meet him with his coat rent. So he's got his clothes torn, earth upon his head under whom David said, if thou passest on with me, thou shalt be a burden unto me. But if thou return to the city and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king, as I have been thy father's servant hitherto. So I will now be also thy servant. Then mayest thou for me defeat the council of Ahithophel. And hast thou not here with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priest? Therefore, it should be that what sort of thing thou should hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priest. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son. by then you shall send unto me everything that you can hear." So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city and Absalom came into Jerusalem. Alright, now, those who say that the Bible is boring must not have spent much time reading the Bible. I mean, here we have a coup in the works, we have espionage going on, this is really incredible. And so, as David's fleeing from Jerusalem, he's very much concerned about Ahithophel, because Ahithophel was He had never been trumped. If Ahithophel gave counsel, it was like gospel. It was as if it were the word of God. And now David says, now that he's turned against me, I'm fearful of what he's going to say. So this fellow named Hushai, he's loyal to David, and he comes and says, King David, I'm going with you. And he says, no, no, no. Hushai, listen, if you go with me, you'll just be a burden. You're just another mouth to feed. You're another person to worry about. If you really want to help me, tell you what I want you to do. You go volunteer your services to Absalom. Now Hushai must have been thinking, Absalom, he sent me. He said, here's what I want you to do. You go volunteer yourself to Absalom and you say, I'll be thy servant, O king, Absalom, as I was to your father. He said, because what I want, I need ears in the palace. And what I want you to do is whatever you hear Ahithophel, counsel my son Absalom, you send word to me. You have the priest's sons there, you send me word so I can stay ahead of what's going on. So he wants ears in the palace, he wants a spy. Alright, now what we've learned about Ahithophel so far. He was a counselor to David, but he also was a conspirator against David. Okay, he was a trusted advisor, he became a turncoat adversary. In American history, I've noticed that not too many Americans name their kids Benedict. Who do you think of when you think Benedict? Yeah, Benedict Arnold. I was in Pastor Annie's office the other day, and among many of the books that I saw we have in common, he had a copy of McCullough's book, 1776. And when I read that revolutionary study, it was really interesting. I always knew George Washington was a brilliant man. I did not know Benedict Arnold was a brilliant man. Many believe that Benedict Arnold could have rivaled George Washington for his military genius, but we only know him as an enemy to the state because he sold out his country. Isn't that interesting? Hithophel at one time would have been like what Benedict Arnold was before he sold out his country. Brilliant, promising, David trusted him implicitly. But something changed. I want you to see number two. What did Ahithophel advise? That's our second question. What did Ahithophel advise? Now this is obviously after the turn of events. Pick up with me. Let's go down to chapter 16 and verse 20. From 1620, we'll read on down to the end of the chapter. So verse 20 says, Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do. And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in into thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house. And all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred 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 into his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the counsel of Ahithophel, both with David and with Absalom. And now I want you to follow what's happening here. And this is just, God doesn't sugarcoat things. He just tells it the way it is. You talk about debauchery and depravity. What is Ahithophel advising? Well, here he says to Absalom, tell you what to do. You show everybody that you have no more regard for your father. He has left these women to keep the house, to take care of the palace. They're called here concubines. Not a term we're familiar with in our culture. That was a term connected with a harem. When the king had a harem of women, there were some wives who were considered primary wives. Now again, this is foreign to us. But through the primary wife, he might have the seed that would inherit the throne. The primary wife might be in the line to receive inheritance from the king. But a concubine was considered a secondary wife. So she was considered legally married to the king, but she had no real claim upon him. So again, that's foreign to us. But David had left these women behind thinking, well, you know, Absalom won't do anything to them. After all, look what happened to Tamar. So he'll leave them alone, and at least they can kind of keep an eye out for me on the palace. Ahithopheles says, I'll tell you what to do. You set up a tent on the top up here, and you go in every night, you have a relationship with one of those women, and word will spread that you have no longer any regard for your father. So what is he advising? Adultery with David's wives. He's saying you have adultery. You say, that is, how much worse could it get? Oh, go to chapter 17, let me show you what else he advised. Chapter 17, verse 1, Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night. And I'll come upon him while he's 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. And I'll bring back all the people unto thee. The man whom thou seekest is at all returns, so all the people shall be in peace. And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel." What is he advising here? Not only adultery with David's wives, but assassination of David's life. Assassination of David's life. He said, you give me a band of 12,000. We'll pursue the king and I personally will take his life. Now, wait a minute. This guy had been David's not only trusted advisor, he had been a trusted friend. They were close. I'll show you that later on as we progress. And all of a sudden he wants to kill David. I remember years ago hearing my pastor make a statement. I don't know if this is unique with him or not, but he said, hurt people hurt people. Many times people who've been hurt end up hurting other people. Process that in your mind. Hurt people hurt people. That's why it's so important how we deal with our hurts. The way you deal with the wounds that you've received, the way you deal with resentment that builds in your heart is so important. Here is Absalom. He's utterly consumed with bitterness. And here we have Ahithophel and Absalom just feeding off each other. Now, it looks at this point like there is a tidal wave coming against David. I mean, there's such disregard that we're talking about adultery with his wives, and there's so much disdain that now there's a plot to take his life. And you think, whoa, what is going to stop this? And remember, sometimes it seems like the world in which we live is just overwhelming. And how in the world can we stand up against it? That brings us to question number three. How was Ahithophel brought down? How was Ahithophel brought down? Go down to the middle of chapter 17. Look at verse 7 here. We pick up in the middle part. Hushai said unto Absalom, the counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men. They be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field. Thy father is a man of war and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he's now hidden some pit or in some other place and will come to pass when some of them be overthrown at the first that whosoever here that will say there's a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt for all Israel know that thy father is a mighty man, may which be with him are valiant men. Therefore, I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee from Dan, even to bear Sheba as the stand that is by the sea for multitude, and thou go to battle in thine own person. So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we shall light upon him as dew falleth on the ground. And of him, and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one. Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring robes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there. 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. Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priest, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and thus have I counseled. Now therefore send quickly, tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over, lest the king be swallowed up and all the people that are with him. So how was Ahithophel brought down? This is astounding. First through superior counsel. through superior counsel. This had never happened in all of Epiphael's days and all of his time as a counselor. All of a sudden, somebody has trumped him. He says, you commit adultery with his wives, you give me men, we'll go out and we'll slay the king, and Hushai says, wait a minute. Epiphael's counsel is not good at this point. Now, very diplomatic. He didn't say, hey, Epiphael's counsel is stupid. That's no good. He just very diplomatically says, no, it's not good at this time. There must have been a collective gasp in the palace. What? Nobody ever dared question and hit the fellow's counsel. He said, no, because you see, all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man. Remember who the mighty men were? They were the special ops guys of the day. They were the special forces. I had a friend of mine who was a a delta force guy in the army and always trying to glean information he can tell me and he says you know if i tell you have to kill you he's just kidding but uh... you know he's not talking and so you have guys that they are the elite fighting forces and that was david david was no sideline supervisor david had been out the battle when he's a kid he killed a lion and a bear with his bare hands he went out against goliath i mean david was a seasoned soldier And he says, you underestimate your father. You go and attack him. He is not camped among the rest of the troops. He's off in some pit or some cave, and as soon as word gets that camp's been attacked, forces will mobilize, and David will escape, and the troops will rally, and you're dead. And Absalom says, you're right. So how is he brought down? Through superior counsel. Remember this. Sometime you're going to face some trial in your life, you say, I do not see the forest through the trees. I don't understand the way out of this. Do you know the context of, if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, is in the context of trials? James 1, 2 through 5, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, and it shall be given him. Notice, the context of asking for wisdom is in the context of trials. You and I especially need wisdom when we're going through tough times. Proverbs tells us wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is seeing life from God's point of view. Proverbs 4, 7. Wisdom is the principal thing, it's the main thing. You better get it. So what you and I need is to ask God, Lord help us to see this from your perspective. And Hushai is given insight by God that is going to spare David's life. All right, so how was Ahithophel brought down? Superior counsel, but that's not all. Drop down in chapter 17, go to verses 22 and 23. Then David arose and all the people that were 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 saddled his ass and arose and got him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulcher of his father." Goodness! What just happened? How was Ahithophel brought down? Not only through superior counsel, but through what I'm calling self-termination. Okay, folks, that's a polite way of saying what? Suicide. Goodness! Somebody has said, and I mentioned it the other night, sin will take you farther than you want to go. Sin will keep you longer than you want to stay. Sin will cost you more than you want to pay. It sure was true in Ahithophel's life. Think about this. He took his own life. Now, I want to interject here. I really believe that thoughts of suicide do not originate with the individual. The Bible says in Ephesians, let's see, I think it's 529, no man yet ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth it and cherisheth it. I don't believe thoughts of suicide originate with the individual. You say, well, no, you're mistaken, because I would, if I had a chance to talk to you in private, I would tell you, Brother Rich, I have thought about taking my life, and I would tell you, you're not alone. I'm sure you're not alone. I have talked to pastor friends of mine. I've talked to a pastor friend this month who was struggling with thoughts of taking his own life. And it's not the first time I've talked to pastor friends of mine in that case. But I'm going to stand by this statement. I do not believe thoughts of suicide originate with you, even if you're thinking in first person, it's just too much for me. I might as well just take my life. I believe that all thoughts of suicide originate with Satan. Let me tell you why. Not only because no man yet ever hated his own flesh, but John 10.10 tells us, the thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. You remember Satan wanted to get at Job, but he couldn't touch Job without God's permission. And so he said, you put this hedge of protection around him. If Satan can't get to you, then what he wants to do is get to your mind. Because God has made it such that you are an autonomous being, you have the ability to make choices, and you can take your own life. And it's a tragic thought, but Satan will do everything he can to talk you into doing it. And I'm convinced you don't have to be demon-possessed to have thoughts of self-termination, thoughts of suicide. The number of people thinking in terms of suicide has grown exponentially today. And I think we'd be shocked in our churches. If there were a blatant confession in here, I think we'd be surprised how many people have thought about taking their life. And you know, and I haven't personally, but I'll tell you what, that's only the grace of God. I've talked to many dear friends whom I trust implicitly, and they have gone through it. Panic attacks, thoughts of... And these are people in ministry who are very sound in scripture, and a thoroughgoing walk with God. If you've thought that way, you're not alone. You're not alone. And I'm not sitting here with an accusing figure saying, oh, you're demon possessed. No, no, no. Satan wants to victimize you. So what he'll do is he'll try to talk you into taking the bullet, or asphyxiating yourself, or whatever it is. One of my pastor friends, out on the west coast, embezzled money from his church. When it was found out, he realized he lost his reputation. He was going to lose his church. He lost his family. And he worked it so that he took the carbon monoxide from the car and filled up the garage and took his own life. And I'd known that pastor for 20 years. None of us are immune to such thoughts. Let him that thinketh he stand to take, he lest he fall. A word to the men particularly. It's incumbent upon us to realize our real identity is not in the work we do. Our real identity is with the one we serve, is with God Himself. You see, if any man be in Christ, he's a new preacher. Old things are passed away, but behold, all things are come new. I believe that so often we men identify ourselves with our career, that if something happens to the career, we feel like we've lost our identity. Your identity is not foremost in what you do for a living. Your identity is in the one who gave you life. And when Ahithophel felt like his counsel had been trumped, that now he was second tier to somebody else, he thought, I have no purpose in this life. Don't make that mistake. Now this is all quite astounding where we've come. Okay, who was of Ahithophel? He was counselor to David, but conspirator against David. What did he advise? He advised adultery with David's wife, assassination of David's wife. How was he brought down? Superior counsel, self-termination. This is all astonishing, but then the big question looms. Number four. Why was Ahithophel so hateful? Why was Ahithophel so hateful? And the why question is where we really have to do a little connecting of the dots. Did you ever play the game Connect the Dots when you were a kid? You know, you draw on the coloring book. I don't know about you, but usually when I'm first starting off, like 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, I don't really see the picture. But as a kid, when I get around to about 34, 35, all of a sudden, oh yeah, it's a rocket ship, or it's a tree, or it's a boat, or whatever. And all of a sudden, as you connect the dots, you begin to see the big picture. I want you to connect some dots with me. Jump over to chapter 23, if you will. Chapter 23. And I will tell you, when Pastor Shetler took us to this passage, I too had read through my Bible years. I mean, I read my Bible through I don't know how many times. Every year I would read my Bible through. I know I had read the story of Ahithophel, but I never connected all the dots. So I really didn't know where this was going. We got to chapter 23. He said, look at this. This is unbelievable. So we got here and we pick up in verse 8. These be the names of the mighty men whom David had. And what follows here, I put a big rectangle around the phrase, the mighty men, because these are David's elitist, okay? These are the special ops guys. And the whole chapter from that point on is a record of the heroics of these men who were just excellent soldiers. They were men of valor and courage, men that David could trust his life to. Slide down with me to verse number 34, if you will. Now this is the list, it's continuing. Look what we're told about these military men. Eliphelet, the son of Ahashbi, the son of the Maokathite. Eliam. I'd like you to circle that name. Eliam, the son of Ahithophel. The Gelonite. Yes, that one and same Ahithophel. Remember, he was from Gelo. It's true, there were numbers of people that had common names. You know, there were a number of Johns in the Bible, a number of Jameses in the Bible. So I wonder, well, is this the same Ahithophel? Ahithophel the Gelonite, the same Ahithophel as described as David's counselor. Okay, Elyim. Now, one thing we learned here, Elyim, Ahithophel's son, was in David's service. He was one of his mighty men. He was one of the special forces guys. Okay. And I thought, Elyim, now I know I've heard that name. Back up with me. Let's go to chapter 11. Chapter 11, I want to begin in verse 1. We're answering the question, why was Ahithophel so hateful? Chapter 11 of 2 Samuel. Look at verse 1. 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. They destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabah, but David tarried still at Jerusalem. In passing, in the evening tide, that David rose up from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon." Now would you all look up here for a minute? Just before we keep reading, I want to point out something to you. This is the time we're told when kings go off to battle. Now instead of going off to battle, he sends them off to battle. It's not that there was something blatantly sinful about this, but you know soft choices give birth to hard consequences, don't they? So he sends them off to battle. And you know, leadership is you lead men to the goal. You don't send them off to the goal. So David goes to the palace and the soldiers go off to battle. And why couldn't he sleep? Well, we don't know. I mean, maybe he couldn't help but think about the men whose lives he'd put in jeopardy. For whatever reason, not being able to sleep, he gets up that night and he walks on the veranda. And from the roof, from that veranda place, he sees a woman washing herself. Now, they didn't have streetlights back then, so we might make some deductions here. You would assume it must have been a nice moonlit night. But it's night, you know, and this woman is bathing. Well, if she's bathing, then she's not dressed. And so what should have happened? He walks out, he sees her there. Whoops! He could have turned around and this whole thing could have been avoided. Remember this. I've counseled some people recently and Fellas, let me just be very blunt with you for a minute. Being tempted is not the sin. I had a friend of mine, he said, I can't help. I drive down the road and all of a sudden I see this billboard and I know I shouldn't have seen it. And, oh, I just feel so wicked. Well, look, you're a guy, you're going to notice those things. But here's what the Bible says. Let no man say when he's tempted, I'm tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is tempted when he's drawn away of his own lust and enticed. And when lust is conceived, it bringeth forth sin. Sin, when it's finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. What should you do if you say, oh, I shouldn't have looked at that? Don't look back. Turn away. Flee also youthful lust. Now, the moment of temptation is not to sin, but what you do at that moment is determining whether you sin or not. Are you going to turn and flee also youthful lust, or are you going to feed it? Here's David. He's well advanced in his adult years, and he's still feeding his youthful lust. And instead of saying, whoops, I'll come back for this walk later, what does he do? He stops and he gazes. Now, pick up in verse three, because sin has consequences, not only for David. Notice what happens. And David sent and inquired after the woman and one said, well, is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Wait a minute. The daughter of Eliam. As soon as we read that, well, I'll tell you what happened for me. I couldn't help but think of Paul Harvey. Now you know the rest of the story. Who was Eliam? He was Bathsheba's dad. Yes, and he was also son of who? Ahithophel. That means that Bathsheba was Ahithophel's granddaughter. Think about this. David tries to get Uriah, her husband, to come home and be there with his wife so that when everybody finds out she's expecting, they'll say, oh, that's right. The king sent for Uriah. He came home. He was with his wife. They're going to have a baby. Oh, it's wonderful. But Uriah wouldn't go home. In fact, David had to get him drunk to send him home. Isn't this awful? Here's the king. Now, not only has committed adultery, not only trying to cover his track, now the king is getting a man drunk. Hey, listen. Every time you make excuse for sin in your life, it's going to just lead you deeper and deeper into sin. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. You can't make excuse for your sins. Quit making excuses. Start making amends. You can't cover it. You've got to confess it. And it's sad how rampant sin is. It's probably just as sad how rare it is to see a person who's gotten messed up in sin to really come clean on it and call it what God calls it. To confess means to speak the same thing as God. Where is the person who doesn't cover it up, gloss it over, rationalize it or excuse it, who just says against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. That is the place to which David would eventually come. But he didn't get there at this point. And what happens? He gets Uriah drunk. Uriah still won't go home with his wife. So he writes a letter, gives it to Uriah and says, take this to Joab. Uriah has no idea. It's his death sentence. The letter says, Joab, I want you to put Uriah in the hottest part of the battle and then pull the troops back. It was nothing less than deliberate premeditated murder. Yeah, it wasn't done by David's hands, but David knew what was going to happen. Put him out there in the hottest part of the battle and then pull all the support back. What do you think would happen? And so David deliberately is trying to cover his tracks. And you know something? Ahithophel was the king's counselor. That means he knew all the in-workings in the palace. He knew Joab. He certainly knew his son Eliam. Oh, by the way, Uriah, her husband, was also one of David's mighty men. And word got back to Ahithophel in due season. And what happened? He was consumed with bitterness. The message tonight I entitled, The Bonds of Bitterness. The bonds of bitterness. I want you to jump over to Hebrews chapter 12 for a minute. Hebrews chapter 12. Look at verses 14 and 15 with me. Hebrews 12, 14 and 15. The bonds of bitterness. One of two things will happen when you face trials. Trials will either make you better or make you bitter. You have a choice. The trials you face in life will either make you better or they'll make you bitter. You know, it was Johnny Erickson Tata. Many of you know that name. Johnny's known for her artwork. She is paralyzed from the neck down. She paints with her paintbrush in her teeth, and that's the only movement she has in her body. She has a daily radio broadcast. She's known widely in evangelical circles. Johnny was paralyzed when she dove into the Chesapeake Bay as a teenage girl, and her spinal column was severed when she hit her neck in the bottom of the Chesapeake. Donnie Erickson has a statement I think is worth considering. She said, being bitter is like taking poison yourself, expecting the other person to die. Think about that. Being bitter is like taking poison yourself, expecting the other person to die. Somebody's wisely observed bitterness is the only poison that destroys its own container. Bitterness is the only poison that destroys its own container. You're the container. It'll destroy you. It's amazing how the corrupt nature, the Adamic nature thinks, well, they don't deserve my forgiveness. But the only person being destroyed by your unforgiveness is not them, it's you. And also your close associates. Look at this, Hebrews 12, 14 and 15. Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord, 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. God says, if you harbor a root of bitterness in your heart, what's going to happen? Well, you know, when you plant a seed in the ground, what actually happens is the seed rots. Remember, except the corn of wheat fall on the ground and die at a bite, it fell on? The seed rots, but out of the seed comes a taproot. What does the root produce? whatever you plant it. You plant corn, you plant beans, whatever it is, it'll produce after its time. The seed rots, the taproot comes out, the root produces whatever it is that you planted. The root of bitterness springing up will trouble you, and thereby many will be defiled. Not the person against whom you're bitter, but all of your important relationships. Have you ever noticed how, indeed, hurt people hurt people? Have you noticed how bitter people just defile all the relationships they touch? This is why so often you find that one divorce leads to another divorce leads to another divorce. Because you see, we don't deal with problems by running from problems. And we don't erase problems by adding to our problems. Bitterness never solved any problem. Follow peace with how many men here? God says all men. I want you to jump back to Ephesians chapter 4 for a moment. Ephesians chapter 4. Look at verses 31 and 32. The last two verses of the chapter. I know these by memory. I could rattle them off to you. But I hope you'll mark them in your Bible. More importantly, I hope you'll engraft them into your soul. Look at what God says. Let all bitterness... Do you know what the word all means? You may have heard this defined before. All means all, and that's all all means. All. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Now, let's just think through these terms. Bitterness. There's a reason it's called bitterness. What does your face look like when you taste something bitter? Get your face all wrinkled up and distasteful. You want to spit it out. Let all bitterness and wrath. Wrath is the idea of being short-fused. Exploding with anger. Let all bitterness and wrath. And what else? And anger. Well, you know, there's righteous anger, brother. Well, it's very interesting. There are times that it's appropriate to be upset with sin. But just like pride, you really don't see anger spoken of positively in the Bible. I have a right to be upset. I mean, Jesus turned over the money chambers tables, didn't he? Yeah. And I don't think Jesus was spewing venom. I hate your guts. You're going to fry in hell. Do you think that's the spirit of Jesus Christ? Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor, you know what clamor is? loud boisterous noises, hollering, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from me with all guile." Guile is deceit. "...and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you." Forgive it! They didn't even ask me for forgiveness. I want to ask you, when Jesus was dying on the cross, who was asking Him for forgiveness? Well, in other words, the thief Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. He didn't exactly ask for forgiveness, although Jesus understood. No one was asking forgiveness when he prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. I have an astounding firsthand experience related here in the little form of a tract written by Corey Tenboom. The tract is called I'm Still Learning to Forgive. I couldn't give you a better illustration than this. Listen to this. It was in a church in Munich where I was speaking in 1947 that I saw him. a balding, heavy-set man in the gray overcoat, a brown felt clutched between his hands. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat. The next moment, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones. Memories of the concentration camp came rushing back, the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor. The shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister's frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp between the parchment of skin. Betsy and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland. This man had been a guard at Ravensbruck, the concentration camp where we were sent. Now he was in front of me, his hand thrust out. A fine message, Fraulein. How good it is to know, as you say, All our sins are at the bottom of the sea. It's the first time since my release that I've been face to face with one of my captors. My blood seemed to freeze. You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk. I was a guard there. But since that time, I've become a Christian. I know that God's forgiven me for the cruel things I did there. But I'd like to hear it from your lips as well. Froehlein. Again, the hand came out. Will you forgive me? And I stood there and could not. Betsy had died in that place. Could he erase her slow, terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed like hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I ever had to do. For I had to do it, I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition. That we forgive those who've injured us. If you do not forgive men their trespasses, Jesus says, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses. Still I stood there with coldness clutching at my heart. But forgiveness is an act of the will. And the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. Jesus help me, I prayed silently. I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling. And so, woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one outstretched to me. As I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, and sprang into our joined hands. Then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. I forgive you, my brother, I cried, with all my heart. For a long moment, we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did at that moment. That is the power of forgiveness. Well, that must be great for Cord Tenboom. I mean, she must be some kind of super-Christian, because I couldn't do that. Back to Hebrews. 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. You say, but I can't. You're right. You can't. Probably one of the most exact definitions of grace in the Bible is afforded us in Philippians 2.13. It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. God works in you both to will and to do. Not only to be enabled to do it, but to want to do it. That's grace. You may remember the story of when the children of Israel came out of Egypt They came down to the Red Sea. It looked like they were about to be annihilated. Moses cried out to God. God said, stretch out your rod. The Lord opened up the waters. The people crossed over. That's called the Exodus. It was an amazing miracle. They go three days in the wilderness. As soon as they've come out of the Red Sea, they're praising God. I will sing unto the Lord. He has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider have been thrown into the sea. It was an incredible picture of salvation. They go three days in the wilderness, and I want you to pick this up in Exodus 15. Look at verse 20 with me. Exodus, second book of the Bible, chapter 15, verse 22. What had happened was, three days earlier they'd crossed the Red Sea. What was the problem? Well, there was too much water. There was no way to get around it. And God opened up the Red Sea. Now what happens? Verse 22. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea. They went out into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. That was the problem previously. Too much water. Now what's the problem? No water. Verse 23, When they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah. People murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord. The Lord showed him a tree, which when he cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There he made for them a statute and an ordinance. And I want you to notice this statement. And there he proved them. And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I brought upon the Egyptians. For I am the Lord that healeth thee. I want you to notice that sense. I am the Lord that healeth thee. That is a direct translation of the name Jehovah Rapha. I'm the Lord who heals you. That's what that name means. And they came to Elam, where were twelve wells of water, and three score and ten palm trees, and they encamped there by the waters. Now, this is an amazing story. First, too much water. They crossed the Red Sea. Then no water. Then they see Mara and they said, oh, water. And they take the water. It's like brackish water. It's bitter. And in each case, what are they doing? They grumble. They complain. And what does Moses do? He does what they could have done. He cried out to God. God said, Moses, take that tree, throw it in the water. And when you throw the tree in the water, the waters will be made sweet. Interesting. As we read the word Mara, I thought, I've heard that name elsewhere. You remember the story of Ruth? You remember her mother-in-law was named Naomi. Naomi means pleasant or pleasantness. Naomi was from Bethlehem, Bethlehem, house of bread. But the problem was there was no bread in the house of bread. There was a famine. So, fearing that they would not be supplied, taken care of, they left Bethlehem. Now, other Jews stayed there, but they left and they went to Moab. God told the people of Israel not to intermarry with the heathen. But they go down to Moab. And it just so happens that both their kids marry Moabitish women, Orpah and Ruth. You know the story. Eventually, Naomi's husband dies. Then both her sons die. And so Naomi's left with these two pagan daughter-in-laws. And Naomi's lost her faith. She has become totally disillusioned. Now listen, you can't choose your circumstances, but you can choose your responses. Around our house we have a saying, Trials in life are not electives, they are core curriculum. Trials in life are not electives, they're core curriculum. Any of you went to college, you know there were certain classes that were core curricular stuff. You had to take, we had to take history of civ and voice and diction, I called it vice and affliction. I mean, there were certain classes I had to take. But then there were electives, you know, my physics classes and some enjoyable classes. Well, guess what? In life, we don't get to choose whether or not we take trials, they're core curriculum. So she's lost her son. She's lost her husband. And now she's just disillusioned. She said, you know, I'm going back to my people. She said, if I had a son tomorrow, he wouldn't be old enough for either of you to marry. You just just go home to your people. In fact, she went so far to say, just go home to thy people and to thy gods. And Orpah kisses her mother-in-law and she goes back to her people, but Ruth says, no, no, no. She says, where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Where thou dwellest, I will dwell. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God shall be my God. Now, what led her to say that? Evidently, she came to understand that the God of Israel was the true God. She moves back to Bethlehem. Interestingly, as Naomi's coming home, now remember, her name means pleasant. She hasn't been home in decades. And the women see her coming and say, oh, it's Naomi. She says, do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara. For the Almighty hath dealt bitterly with me." What does Marah mean? Bitter. So what happened when they came to these waters? They were bitter. Now, great story. Ruth goes on to marry Boaz. You know, through that line comes Solomon and eventually the Lord Jesus Christ. Amazing story. The goodness of God leads to repentance. What a picture it is. Mara means bitter. Okay, so we have this problem. Now, this is a physical, real, historic problem. The waters are bitter. There's plenty of water, water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. So what happens? God says, take the tree, throw it in the water, it becomes sweet. Now, theologians love to run with this one because it is a profound picture. You remember Galatians 3.13? Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, even as it's written, cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. He became sin for us who knew no sin. Why? That we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Theologians love this picture. When they took the tree and threw it in the water, the waters were made sweet. When Jesus took our punishment on the cross, we who were repulsive to the holiness of God were suddenly made totally acceptable to God because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. What a picture! That's a picture of salvation by grace through faith. Now let me just say this to you. While that is a wonderful picture, it doesn't take away from the fact that this really happened. This is an historic event. When the wooden tree was thrown in the waters, they were made sweet. Why? God did it. Bitter waters don't just turn sweet. Well, they can by the grace of God. And you may say, but you don't know what I've been through in my life. I mean, listen, I think if some of you would be completely frank with me, I'll probably be right on this. If you're bitter, you might come to me and say something like this. Well, that's easy for you to preach. Because after all, you work with all these nice church people all the time. I mean, you don't have the hostility. You've got a wife that loves you. You've got kids that are safe. You've got a mom and dad that are safe. It must be easy for you to preach that, because after all, you live in this nice, cloistered environment. And I understand some of you have unsafe family. You work in a workplace where God's name is blasphemed. I haven't heard a pastor take God's name and name one time this week. I haven't heard him curse once. And I even played golf with him. I didn't hear him curse one time. And I don't expect to. And you say, yeah, see, it's so nice. You live in this nice little cloistered world. I understand. But let me just tell you, I'm not just preaching theory. I remember in November of 2000, when I received the horrifying news that our pastor's wife and daughter were dead. And then I found out that it was a murder-suicide. Our pastor's wife had shot and killed their 24-year-old daughter and then turned the pistol on herself and had taken her own life. I still remember the feeling of absolute devastation. I knew our pastor and his wife. It's not like, oh, she must have had some skeletons in the closet. No. She must have really been kind of, you know, living a double life. No. No. What is it then? Oh, I believe it's a combination of depression and definitely spiritual attack. And we can't say there was anything but terrible, awful sin. Let him that thinketh, he standeth, take he lest he fall. But I can't explain to you the feeling that came over us as we're thinking, this pastor's wife who has loved us, who has poured her life into us, now she's taken the life of their 24-year-old daughter. She's taken her own life. And we're rushing back to be at our pastor's side. And of course, the aftermath, within a month he was gone from our church, had resigned and was moving on. A major change is coming. And we're all trying to sort it out. People would call when I was Driving home from Tennessee back to Missouri, Angela and I, tears at times, just blinding as I'm driving, thinking, what are we going to say to pastor? What are we going to say to the church? Pastors calling from all over the country. Rich, Angela, how are you doing? How do you answer when you've been through a murder-suicide? Oh, we're fine. Well, that's not how we felt. Oh, well, we've given up on God. We just can't trust Him. Well, no, that's not how we felt either. What do you say? I remember distinctly what I said. I said, I can tell you this. We are sustained. Would you finish with me tonight by looking at Psalm 55. Look at verse 22 for a minute. Psalm 55, 22. I said, I can tell you truly this. We are sustained. Well, what do you mean? Look at Psalm 55, 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. You know, it seemed like the first decade of the 21st century was to be marked by challenges for us. After that event in 2000, I remember when we fast forward to 2003, Angela and I were expecting our third child at the time. I'd always wanted a big family. Now, I thought big was five. I live in a trailer, so maybe you can figure why I thought five was big. But, you know, I thought, well, maybe we'll get at least five kids. That'd be great. We weren't really out of the blocks real fast. It was three years before our first one was born. It was about four years till our next one was born. And now it would be another four years. And finally, the third one's coming along. But Angela wasn't doing well. She was really very ill. Not unusual for her to have a bad first trimester, but by the fourth one, she was still bad, in fact, worse. And I had her stay with my mom and dad in Florida as I continued flying to meetings and thought, what am I going to do? I remember it was Easter Sunday of 2003. I wasn't far away. I was at Bethel Baptist Church in West Carrollton, Ohio, over near Dayton. And Angela was really poor that Easter Sunday, and we were talking and I said, how do you feel? She said, I feel awful. I said, why don't you go to the hospital? She says, because they're going to put me in triage, and I'm going to sit there and wait until they see me, and I don't feel like just sitting there. And I said, I understand. I said, Angela, I think you and I have to prepare ourselves for the fact that we could lose this baby. And fighting back the tears, she said, I know. I thought of that. I said, and we've got to resolve that no matter what happens, God is good no matter the circumstances. She said, I know. We talked about that many times. Let me interject this here. You must settle by faith the fact that God is good, for it will not be your feeling when the ferocity of the storm strikes. Settle by faith the fact that God is good, for it will not be your feeling when the ferocity of the storm strikes. Remember the wise man and the foolish man? One's destroyed and one stands. Why? One hears the Word and does it. One hears the Word of God but disregards it. You've got to be rooted in obedience to God's Word if you're going to weather the storms. And I said, hon, we've got to prepare. Short story. Got her on the phone with a midwife that afternoon, and while they were talking, Angela's water broke. 17 weeks into term. The midwife said, go to the hospital, honey, right now. And she said, what about my husband? I'll call him. She calls me, Mr. Tozer, I'm sorry to do this. She said, but I just was talking to your wife and her water broke, and she is rushed to the hospital. And I said, 17 weeks, I know I'm not thinking straight, but is there any chance? She said, I'm sorry. Half hour later, Angela gave stillbirth to a little baby boy. I thought about having a boy one day and thought, I'm going to name him Richard III. I'm a Richard Jr. I always liked being my dad's junior. I'm going to name him Richard III. We'll call him Trey. He'll be the third. But not this one. We named him Nathaniel. The reason for that is behold an Israelite needed whom is no guile. This little guy never sinned in his life. Innocent little boy. Angela held him. She said it was amazing the detail. Fingernails, etc. 17 weeks in. Don't let anybody tell you that's just fetal tissue. It's a baby. And she held that little lifeless body and wept. I didn't know this until later. Her blood pressure had dropped to 30 over whatever. They had to turn the bed upside down to keep the blood flowing to keep my wife alive. I spent all night over there in Ohio trying to get a plane ticket. Next morning, I finally get out. I meet her at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola where they had taken her. We fall on each other's arms and we weep. And you know, the Lord took us through it. 2008, five years later. Planning for a great memory now. Happy memory. It's going to be our 15th anniversary. We've scrimped and saved. What do you do when you travel all the time? We decided we're going to take a cruise. We're going to go on a cruise to Alaska. Some of our friends, our pastor and wife, they have the same identical marriage year and date as we. We're going on a cruise to Alaska with some friends. So, awesome. It's going to be great. My friends are already up in Seattle, Washington, waiting for us to join them. I'm preaching a revival meeting Sunday through Wednesday. It's Tuesday night of that meeting. I get a call from my sister. She says, Rich, I don't know how to tell you this. But we lost dad today. My dad was 65 years old. We think he died of some kind of a blockage of a bowel. And my sister and her husband are both nurses. They worked on him for 20 minutes before the medics got there. And my dad passed away. Instead of going to Seattle to go on a cruise with our friends, I'm going back to New Jersey to do a funeral. And I'm preaching my dad's funeral. What are you thinking through all these incidents? Same thing I thought the first time. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, he shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. You know what's interesting about this psalm? Back up with me for a minute. Go to verse 1 for just a moment in Psalm 55. What is the context? You know, many of these psalms were written when David was on the run from trouble. Psalm 55. Give ear to my prayer, O God. Hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me. I mourn in my complaint. And make a noise because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they cast iniquity upon me. In wrath they hate me. You know, I'm thinking, OK, he must be on the run from Saul, right? Read on down. Go to verse 12. For it was not an enemy that reproached me, and I could have borne it. Neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me. Then I would have hid myself from him. That eliminates Saul. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance, we took sweet counsel together and walked unto the house of God in company." Who comes to mind, folks? Ahithophel. Many believe that David is writing here about his dear friend and former counselor, Ahithophel. Verse 15, let death seize upon them, let them go down quick into hell, for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them. As for me, I'll call upon God. The Lord shall save me evening, morning, and at noon will I pray and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many with me. God shall hear and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. You know, when you see the word Selah in the Bible, it means go back and think about it. Then look at the next sentence. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. That is an interesting statement. Because nothing changes in their life, they don't fear God. You and I don't like change, do we? Hey, I didn't vote for change. You can keep the change. You know, we got a lot of change. She didn't get a lot of hope. But you know, I didn't vote for change. And I didn't vote for change in my life either. But you know what? Change comes, doesn't it? And because they have no changes, they fear not God. He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him. He hath broken his covenant. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved, but thou, O God, shall bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in thee. Let me show you this to close. I took three years of piano lessons, and my poor parents, I never learned to read a lick of music. And so you might think, well, total waste. Well, no, I wish I could. Now, I do know a few things. I know that this is middle C. Three years of piano lessons for that? Well, I know that much. Not only is that middle C, but I also know that this pedal to the far right is called the sustain pedal. I want you to hear something. This is middle C. This is middle C with a sustain pedal. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. It doesn't matter who's hurt you. It doesn't matter how deeply betrayed you may have felt in your life. It doesn't matter how bleak the circumstances. Folks, remember this, no matter what happens in this world, God is good. And he is fully in control. After my pastor's wife had taken her daughter's life and taken her own life, my pastor stood before our church family on a Saturday night. We had a family meeting. With tears, he said, I want you folks to know two things I know for sure. God is good and God is in control. He used the psalm, Psalm 76, 10. The wrath of man shall praise thee. The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. He said, God allows evil in this world. He doesn't sanction it, but He allows it. We do have choices, but there comes a point at which God says, that's enough, no farther. Sometimes we can't believe that God would allow it to go as far as it does. He said, but please do not leave here thinking, well, either God's not good or He's not in control. He said, God is always good and God is always in control. And I've often thought of 2 Corinthians 1, 3 and 4. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort, who comforted us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. If we never knew any trials, how could we empathize with somebody else who's gone through the valley of the shadow of death? You don't need to be bitter. By the grace of God, you can be better. God will deliver you from the bonds of bitterness. Let's bow our heads together in prayer. And while we're preparing to pray, I want you to just hear these words. I read an account one day I thought is a fascinating, fitting conclusion to this message. A young lady named Sally relates an experience she had in a Bible class given by her teacher, who we'll call Brother Smith. She says Brother Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons. One particular day, Sally walked into the seminary and knew that they were in for another fun day. On the wall was a big target. On a nearby table were many darts. Brother Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone they disliked or someone that had made them very angry, and he would allow them to throw darts at the person's picture. Sally's girlfriend drew a picture of a girl who had stolen her boyfriend. Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a picture of a former friend putting a great deal of effect into the drawing, even drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased with the overall effect she had achieved. The class lined up and began throwing darts with much laughter and hilarity. Some of the students threw their darts with such force that the targets were ripping apart. Sally looked forward to her turn and was filled with disappointment when Brother Smith said that because of time limits, the students would need to return to their seats. As Sally sat thinking about how angry she was because she didn't have a chance to throw any darts at her target, Brother Smith began removing the target from the wall. Underneath that target was a picture of Jesus. A complete hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Christ. Holes and jagged marks covering his face. His eyes were pierced out. Brother Smith said only these words, Inasmuch as you've done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you've done it unto me. No other words were necessary. The tear-filled eyes of each student focused only on the picture of Christ. Dear Lord, I pray that you would show us that bitterness doesn't hurt the ones against whom we're bitter. It destroys us, it defiles our relationships, and it hurts you. Father, forgive us for resentment, forgive us for bitterness, forgive us for hostility of the soul. Father, forgive us even as we forgive those who trespass against us. And You know only by Your grace can we forgive others.