On Eagles' Wings Pt 65 — Don Courville

Well, it's good to be back with you again today on Eagle's Wings. I trust that Jesus Christ is very special to you. He's very special to me. Or he saved me. He took me out of a life of self and sin some number of years ago and has done a new thing in my life and Through all of his working and everywhere.

He sent me and all of the stuff somehow another. He's put me together today with you. And I trust that this time will be a blessing to you. I Never know where I'm going to be from white week to week never know where I'm going to preach or not preach never know what state I'll be in.

I Along with my family we have yielded ourselves to be available to the Lord for him to use us as he sees fit and about two years ago we Moved away from our pastorate and have gone into a revival ministry a ministry of of helping churches we took the first year off basically for our family to Spend time with our children.

To prepare them for this time. We didn't know exactly how deep God would take us into this area but he's taught us to let go of many things to deal with many things to give up many things and Every time we've given up something he's replaced it with more of his grace and his goodness and his presence.

Restitution and Spiritual Cleansing

You know last week I was talking with you about restitution if you were listening to the program. I just can't overemphasize how important it is to be clean spiritually it's very key that you deal with sin in your life and Heavenly Father I pray for my friends today listening that Jesus Christ will be all They want he's all they need.

But he that he will become all they want. And father you guide our time on the air. You direct us as to what we share. The subjects we talk about and I pray for my friends listening there may be one without Christ as their Savior.

And I pray that you would speak to them that Jesus is what they need. That they would come to a point even right now. Where they would repent of their sin and turn and ask Jesus to come into their life.

Do what you want now father during this time in Jesus name? Amen. Amongst all of the things that are going on in the world. There's nothing more serious than sin in your own life and As I've been talking to you about this I I feel like the Lord today would have me share a little bit with you about the destructive elements or effects of bitterness.

I Have some notes from a good preacher friend of mine evangelist By John Musser on bitterness and the scriptures full of bitterness and you can just find all kinds of illustrations of bitterness all around us but if you're praying for revival, and that's what this program is geared for for a revival in our nation and It's got to start somewhere and the best place to start is in my heart and in yours.

And I have a burden for our churches so many of our churches are not seeing souls saved. We're not dealing with things in our lives. We're not making restitution, and we're inviting demons in and that's why I'm offering to you a booklet on on rock music.

If you would like to receive this you write to me. Send a donation of five dollars to help cover the cost and I'll send you this booklet and also anytime anybody writes me I Usually send them a copy of the booklet revival or ruin that I wrote About almost six years ago.

About how God worked in our part of the country and revival where it went for seven months and that booklet deals specifically with What God did in our church? But it went through the state for seven months, and it's continued on even today in different areas.

One of the things that we're trying to focus in on in this area of revival ministry is how to keep it going in the church. And I've been reading a book an old book. It's 130 years on revival. And I'm learning some new truths and principles about it.

Many of the old revivals went on for years after it hit in a land. Or its city or or an area of the country it went for years, and we're having to relearn these principles these things but Let me cover this with you before we share with you something about bitterness.

The Bible says Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. Neither his ears heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you.

That he will not hear. That's from Isaiah 59 1 and 2 and if you know anything about the Bible Isaiah 58 is to me a key revival passage before that. The first step in preparing the way to pray for revival is dealing with the sin in one's own life and A good way to start is to keep a pencil and a notepad handy while you're praying.

Or you're reading the scripture and anything that constantly comes up to interrupt your communion with the Lord should be noted. You know what Paul said in Acts 24 16 he said in herein do I exercise? Myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man a very good principle to practice.

Anything that the Spirit of God keeps bringing up to you over and over again in your conscience is something that you probably need to deal with. I read of a story how in Argentina there were two men in a church who had not spoken to each other in 15 years and They were brought to see how that displeased the Lord and they were Reconciled.

And then a nurse and another church was making some side money doing abortions and God convicted her Convicted her of it and she vowed that she would do it no more. Then she took her kit of instruments and she drove her car out on a big bridge that spanned a river.

Coming down from the east side of the Andes and she stopped the car and tossed the instruments over the railing and into the river. Dealing with what the Spirit of God had spoke to her part about a well-to-do couple.

Invited a lady friend to have dinner with them in an expensive hotel in downtown Venezuela's and the hall leading into the dining room sparkled with luxury and The floor was beautifully tiled and there were huge plate glass mirrors on the walls and along one side was a row of magnificent flowering potted plants and after the meal this lady when three of them came out they paused in the hallway to admire the flowers and the single lady thought that.

One of the flowers was especially pretty so she glanced up and down the hall and Then as her British Brethren would say she pinched the flower pot and all she took the flower the pot and all she took it out put it in Her car and took it home.

And a few weeks later God tapped her on the shoulder and asked her how come. It's God ever done that to you, maybe he's doing that to you right now. He's just saying why'd you do that? Why'd you say that?

And even though she was sick with a bad cold. She got out of her bed. She went back down to that hotel and she paid for her sin. How come? Why'd you do it? Why'd you say that. And the Spirit has been talking to maybe some of you for years on something habit.

You know making an apology or a restitution is one of the most difficult things the believer is asked to do and that's probably why We don't see it going on in our churches, but without it. You're not going to have revival.

You're not going to see God's fullest blessing. But just here we can offer a word of encouragement and consolation to you in most cases. Where the Lord has squeezed us into asking forgiveness He will have gone ahead and worked in the heart of the other person so that the injured party may receive you in a way that.

You've not imagined Sunday nights in the church that we're in the pastor opens it up most of the time for Testimonies what God's doing and many times they share how God is. Worked in an area where they went back to make restitution and the stories are amazing.

Amazing the things that happen all kinds of things happen. People get saved when they go back to make restitution. They're the the people that drop their jaws. They just their mouths fly open when somebody comes up and tells them to do that.

It is something that's so unheard of but it's so powerful a humbling of ourself. You remember last week? How frightened Jacob was when he got the news that his brother Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men.

I shared that with you. But God did something in Esau's heart so that when they met he he was actually delighted and hugged Jacob. Jacob lived in fear of nothing. Esau's heart had melted. Now if you've not quite had the courage to to straighten up some sin in your life.

And you're invited to participate in a time of prayer. It might be wiser to decline than the risk short-circuiting the prayer of the entire group. I believe many of our prayer meetings are just Shams because we know there's somebody there with sin in their life, and we're letting them pray with us.

We're tolerating sin. Now let me talk with you about prayer for revival a little bit more before we go into our study today. But dr. Torrey said it's not necessary that the whole church get to pray and to begin with great revivals always begin in the hearts of a few men and women whom God arouses by a spirit to believe in him as a living God as a God who answers prayer and upon whose hearts he lays a burden from which No rest can be found except in importunate crying to God.

You say well, I don't know of anybody else I can pray with. Well that might be the case. But that's no reason why you can't pray yourself for revival. Pray that God will give you somebody to pray with you for revival.

Perhaps the Lord will put you in contact with one or two others in your area who would be interested. You know even though he might not do that you can still be a David Brainerd. He prayed alone in whole villages of Indians.

Men women and children all turned to the Lord. James Frazier and Burma also prayed alone with the exception of a few of his relatives on the other side of the world in England. And some 20 ,000 of the Lysu people came to the Lord.

So if there's one two three neighbors or your friends that have an interest in prayer for revival then start a little prayer meeting. Within small prayer meetings are more flexible than the larger ones anyway.

It's easier to agree on the time to get together and all that. So pray for revival for America. Pray for revival for your church. Many Christians I believe have the notion that the more people they can induce to come to a prayer meeting the better.

That's not necessarily true. You never know in a large meeting how many Aikens you have read. Joshua chapter 7. One preacher said I he said I once had what I thought was a nice prayer group only to learn that one of the women who prayed the loudest was the cook in a house of prostitution.

So you just pray you start praying that God will send a revival in Your life in your church, and if you'd like this booklet you write to me on rock music. I believe many of our churches are inviting demons into their churches.

Many of the young people are confused. There's two standards. They're not being taught. What's right there? They're being Taught what's wrong, and it's destroying them. They're wondering why they have no power you ever wondered.

Why your church is not sending out missionaries anymore? We've compromised so much accepted the ways of the world so much into our lives. Now as we go into this new year, and we're just getting started this month one of the most destructive sins that I know of is that of bitterness you Can get out your Webster and Webster will define bitterness as having a sharp generally disagreeable taste.

Painful as a bitter experience severe as bitter cold cruel stinging as bitter words the Greek word for bitterness Piazzo means to squeeze. Actually, it will squeeze the life out of you out of the person.

That's bitter that person is always Hurt more than the one that they're against means to squeeze to seize. To officially arrest or in hunting to capture to apprehend to catch to lay. Hand on to take also to pack to press down from strong.

Are you bitter? Are you bitter the Bible says if you'd like to turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 430 and I'm going to take you through many passages that we're to let all bitterness. We're to let all bitterness be put away from you.

Ephesians 431. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Have you ever thought about this thing of bitterness? Are you bitter? Are you bitter it?

It is the attitude that refuses to make reconciliation with others last week and today I've talked with you a little bit on Reconciliation. I will not go to them to them. They offended me. I am right.

They're wrong. They can come to me that my friend is the attitude of bitterness first of all bitterness has a conforming process and not a Transforming process if you know what the scripture says in Romans 12.

Bitterness as Conformity to the World

Paul said I beseech you therefore brethren By the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living Sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service and do not be conformed to this world.

I propose to you that Bitterness is part of this world. But be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove. What is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God bitterness has a conforming process?

Not a transforming the Word of God as you set yourself. Saturate yourself on that and you think on the Word of God you become what you think as a man thinks so he is. So if you're bitter against somebody that's the area you're going to conform to.

It conforms us actually to this age, which is under the control of Satan. So we're not to be conformed to this age. We're not to to take on the shape of this age and the patterns of thinking. I Was looking at Ephesians chapter 2 verse 2 and 3.

Paul has said in verse 1 and you had be quickened who were dead and trespasses and sins wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world. According to the prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh. Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath even as others. Bitterness is a conforming process to the flesh to the lust of our flesh.

To the desires of the flesh and of the mind. It's from the world. It's actually from the pit. Bitterness. Satan is a bitter bitter fallen angel. Very bitter bitter people if you get around them, they spoil your fun.

They spoil your party. They spoil the atmosphere. They are angry inside. They are bitter. Do you know one? Are you one? It is actually enmity with God. The Bible says in Romans 8 5. And Let me just an inject bitterness in the place of flesh.

For they that are after the flesh. Do mind the things of the flesh or they that are after bitterness do mind the things of bitterness? But they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit for to be carnally minded or let's say to be bitterly minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace because the Carnal mind that bitter mind is enmity against God.

For it is not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can be it's not from God. It's not subject to the law of God. Bitterness actually is meditating upon evil. Which is strictly forbidden in the scripture.

Meditating on What Is Good

Strictly God has strictly forbidden us to do this if you turn over to Philippians in chapter 4. The Bible tells us that we're to meditate on those things which are good. Philippians chapter 4. Starting actually with with verse 1 you come on down through there and verse 4 you to rejoice in the Lord and verse 6.

You're to be careful for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God and the peace of God which passeth all. Understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure. Whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are a good report if there be any virtue if there be any praise think on these things.

Those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do and the God of peace Shall be with you. So you might ask yourself as you're thinking on something does it fit into the category of Philippians chapter 4 verse 8?

Is it true? Is it honest? Is it just is it pure lovely? Is it a good report? Is just think on that if it doesn't fit in with it drop it get rid of it. It'll destroy you. Meditating upon that which is evil is actually taking poison into your own soul.

Which will actually destroy the spiritual life which is within you. We're to think on those things which are good love thinketh. No evil first Corinthians 13 5. It doesn't dwell on the evil. The opposite of love is bitterness and evil which is at enmity with God for God is love for Sean for eight.

Consequences of Bitterness

Let me share with you in our remaining time today some consequences of bitterness. Maybe God can use this in your life. Or maybe you can take something that might help somebody else that's bitter and you can minister to them.

I have actually six consequences if we can get through them. First of all and foremost is broken fellowship with God if you turn over into first back to first John chapter 1 and verse 6. The scripture tells us about our fellowship with God that if we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness we lie and Do not the truth.

Actually we are not practicing truth first. John 2 9 and 11 Says whosoever is born of God does not commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. In this the children of God are made known or manifest and the children of the devil.

Whosoever does not righteousness is not of God. Neither he that loveth not his brother for this is the message that you heard from the beginning that we should love one another. You know that you cannot love Someone with bitterness in your heart.

You have a false love you have a hypocritical love. You have a Judas type love when you come up to your brother and put your arm around say boy. It's good to see you. But yet you've got something in your heart against them.

That is a Judas type love and it will betray. Broken fellowship with God you can't fellowship with your brother. This type of bitterness is one of the sins that grieves the Holy Spirit most in Ephesians 4 30.

We're to put aside let all bitterness all of it. They put away from you secondly. Not only is there broken fellowship with God when the consequences of bitterness broken fellowship with God, but also broken relationships.

How many of you know of a family member a spouse or a friend or Someone in a church or a whole church that split or an organization or whatever that has this problem. Somebody's bitter bitterness toward one person will defile all your relationships.

If not dealt with. It will just defile you just a little bit of dirt in your glass of water. Will dirty it up. I'm turning over to James chapter 3. James chapter 3 in verse 6 James said. And the tongue is a fire a world of iniquity.

So is the tongue among our members that it defile it the whole body. Instead it's on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire of hell and we wonder why God's not blessing in our church. We wonder why we're not seeing very many say Bitterness there's some deacon in your church.

It's bitter against another one or bitter against the preacher. Or the Lord help us if the preachers a bitter preacher. I have run into bitter preachers. I was talking to one last summer. Bitter bitter against one of the deacons in the church and been there for 23 years 23 years that had been going on.

Wow. No wonder the world isn't impressed broken relationships. But also another consequence of bitterness is a broken spirit. Job said in Job 21 25. And another diet in the bitterness of his soul and never eat it with pleasure.

Self-destruction mental suicide. Entraps our own spirit in bondage and frustration. What a frustrating thing it must be. To have a close relative that you have to avoid to stay away from is it worth it?

Is it worth it to go through life like that my friend life is short, it's just a vapor. It's just a vapor and then it's gone and so many times we boast in our own pride. We say I'm right, but now you rejoice in your boastings.

All such rejoicing is evil and I will not move. I'll stand my ground till hell freezes over. We say Until they come to me I won't go to them. Wow. You won't see revival in your life or your church with that kind of attitude a broken spirit and.

Then the logical thing to follow this next is a broken health the fruits of bitterness. We have lives that are shipwrecked. We have hurt loved ones. We have destruction confusion. And sickness, you know, all these things can lead to premature death.

I was just reading if I can get over to it in first Corinthians 11. You know before you have communion your pastor will read many times. He'll read first Corinthians 11. First Corinthians 11 and verse 28 Paul said but let a man examine himself and So let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup for he that eateth and drinketh.

Unwittingly eateth and drinketh damnation to himself. I Know of one preacher That a high percentage of his time is in the hospitals going from hospital to hospital to hospital there's probably four or five hospitals around in his town and They haven't dealt with these things in his church for a long time.

And I wonder how many of those people in those hospitals from his church and there's a high percentage of them Just fit into this category. They bring damnation to themselves not discerning the Lord's body for this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep.

And that doesn't mean they're cutting Z's. That means they're dead. Paul said if we would judge ourselves. We should not be judged. But when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world.

Bitterness is though of the world. It's of Satan. It's of the flesh. And when it's allowed to come into your life or into the church it poisons. Why do we allow poison. Would you allow somebody to walk into your home put a little strychnine and in all of your? glasses of water.

You said no. But actually we are being poisoned to death. We had some wheat checked out here just a few weeks ago a friend of ours went to a biochemist and Checked out her wheat and our wheat and found out that each of it had a little bit a little trace.

That's a slight slight trace of strychnine and it comes from the fertilizer, I guess. Many of us are slowly poisoning ourself to death with certain foods that we eat too many sugars. Which I like sweet things and have to watch it, but bitterness is a poison more deadly than strychnine and Over a period of time it will break your health.

You can have a broken Spirit broken relationships broken fellowship with God broken health. There's a fifth thing. That it does it gives place to Satan. Means to oppress to afflict to torment us. Actually If you have bitterness you can give him a legal right to come into your life.

The Bible says neither give place to Satan. Giving him the legal right to afflict and to devour us to destroy us if you have bitterness. You're you're actually are giving him the legal right neither give place to the devil.

It means don't give him a chance an opportunity or a foothold or a loophole. That means a legal right because he'll take it every time. Ephesians 4 30 For not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. I wonder how many times we've grieved him with our bitterness and the last thing in closing is It can bring us into mental imprisonment.

I was reading over in Proverbs chapter Chapter 5 verse 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord 521 22 and 23 Before the eyes of the Lord and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquity shall take the wicked himself and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

He shall die without instruction and in the greatness of his folly. He shall go astray. I was noticing. Think one thing there. It says he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. Our own sins can act like a rope and imprison us.

Peter said that Simon the sorcerer was in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity and He hollered out to Peter to pray for him. I Just wonder in closing up as I've shared this little Bible study with you today.

There wouldn't happen to be a bitter spirit in you. Would you with their. I'd hope not. I ran into so many people that are bitter you look in their face. You can read people. They're like a book. You can't hide the pages of your life.

They're on your face and they're in your eyes. I was I've been talking with some people in the last few weeks. I was with him this week at a funeral and Fear is all in their face and in their eyes and they've done something against God and they've invited Satan into their lives.

They've given place to them to Satan and their lives read like a book of fear and torment. My friend let me pray for you Lord. I pray if there's one today listening that they would come to you and confess it get rid of it forgive.

It's not worth it. I pray that you'd set him free in Jesus name. Well, I trust that this has been a help to you. Just a little Bible study. We've been dealing with this subject of reconciliation and bitterness is one of the chief sins in our age.

And all ages probably and until next time I trust that God will richly bless you. My friend.