HIDDEN BITTERNESS

Micah Stephen Bell

 Published by
Micah Stephen Bell
The KEY Ministries
3201 West Pipeline Road
Euless, Texas 76040-6201
(817) 283-1700
[email protected]
www.keyministries.org
micahstephen.com

Copies of this publication may be obtained by contacting this ministry.

You are welcome to use this material in any way it might bless God’s people.
Contact information about the publisher would be deeply appreciated.
 Contents

A PERSONAL TESTIMONY 3

WHAT IS BITTERNESS? 5
THE FIRST BITTER MAN 5

BITTERNESS IN A GROUP 7

EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS 10
ANGER AT GOD 10

INFIRMITIES FROM BITTERNESS 11

DECEPTION FROM BITTERNESS 11

A DOOR FOR THE OCCULT 12

THE FRUIT OF BITTERNESS 13

MORE EVIDENCE OF BITTERNESS 14

DOORWAYS FOR BITTERNESS 16

PLANK-EYED CHRISTIANS 17

SELECTIVE FORGIVENESS 18

SUPPRESSING THE HOLY SPIRIT 19

THE TORTURERS 20

THE REMEDY FOR BITTERNESS 21

THE REMEDY OF THE CROSS 21

RIDDING YOUR LIFE OF HIDDEN BITTERNESS 22

FINDING REST 24
THE STORY OF CALEB 24

GOD’S PROVIDED REST 27

NO MORE BITTERNESS 28

A PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE 29

 PREFACE

As healing and deliverance were being restored to the

body of Christ in the early days of the Charismatic Movement,
it became apparent that unforgiveness could keep one from
receiving from God. After the individual was counseled to
choose to forgive, the breakthrough would come.
Today, the power of forgiveness has been discovered
in the psychiatric office and the writing of movie scripts.
Forgiveness is how God is saving His creation.
During my years of ministry to God’s people and through
my personal experience, I came to realize that unforgiveness
was the surface reflection of a pool of bitterness in one’s life
and that to really be free, one must continue to profess the
choice of forgiving until this pool of wormwood is drained.
As I share in my personal testimony in this writing,
bitterness can be hidden away in our soul for years, and may
require the voice of our Heavenly Father for us to see it. I
prayer He might speak through these words.
Hidden bitterness is like pride in that it is almost
impossible to see in one’s self. Remember Job?
May this little book bring deliverance and healing to
body, soul and spirit.
For the kingdom,
 HIDDEN BITTERNESS

Micah Stephen Bell

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately

wicked: who can know it?” -Jeremiah 17:9
Although the heart knows its own bitterness, evasion of
shame and rejection will cause it to suffer deceit.
A lifelong pool of failures, hurts, betrayals and
disappointments gradually fills until we find ourselves wading
in a swamp of stagnant muck diluted with wormwood. God
forbid that we let anyone know about our exclusive quagmire
of bitter retreat, so we allow denial to repulse its repugnance
and deceit relieve our uncompleted duty.
Among all the giants to be brought down in the conquest
of our personal Canaan, unforgiveness and bitterness of
heart prevail in the darkness of a deceitful heart. We may
find that our sling of forgiveness with the smooth stones of
confession hit their mark but still not be the final, fatal blow
that slays this murderous giant.
Practically every person we have dealt with in ministry
has been counseled to forgive and admit bitterness in their
lives. Most sincerely believed they had taken care of these
matters, but deeper scrutiny revealed remaining residues of
unforgiveness and bitterness.

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 The full breadth of bitterness is very difficult to detect
because of its unabating evasiveness. I have seen many
people surprised, when they earnestly begin to let the
Holy Spirit shine His full light into their heart, to find the
incompletely drained bitter pool with its remaining refuse
souring their soul and aborting the development of the Christ
within them.

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 A PERSONAL TESTIMONY

Chapter 1

A PERSONAL TESTIMONY

I personally discovered first hand that a person can

harbor hidden bitterness for many years and not be aware of
its insidious presence.
I have shared this experience in a tract called How God
Heals, so I will abbreviate the story. (Let me know if you
would like to have the tract with the full story).
A few years ago, I strained and evidentially damaged my
right hip joint causing me such unbearable pain that I could
not find any position for my body where I could ease the
blinding pain.
I prayed, cried out to the Lord and called an elder in our
fellowship to come and pray for me. Thankfully, the pain
abated somewhat and I could function again.
For a few weeks I was able to walk, but not without a
degree of pain that would require me to stop and sit down for
a while. During this period I went to New York City during
the first anniversary of 911 and walked extensively in the
area of disaster. It was difficult, but I knew I was supposed
to be there to pray and pass out copies of the repentance
prayer the Lord had given me.
After a respite of about a year, I was sitting on the side
of my bed on a Sunday morning putting on my socks when
my back snapped and the pain returned with a vengeance.
I struggled to make it through the morning gathering, but I
finally had to surrender to the bed, something I had not had

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 A PERSONAL TESTIMONY

to do in several years.
I could find no comfort or ease regardless of what position
of my body. With a broomstick for a cane, I hobbled and
staggered to the bathroom or a chair in our living room that
tilted enough to allot me a small degree of relief, but nothing
I did completely diminished the grinding, burning pain.
After three days of totally immobility, I was shaken by
the thought that I might be spending the rest of my days in a
wheelchair. What was I to do?
I kept petitioning God and confessing healing. Still no
respite from the horror of the agony.
After another sleepless night, I shuffled and moaned my
way to the chair in the living room and carefully laid back
staring at the ceiling. One more time I asked, “Lord, please
show me what this all about.” Almost instantly, I heard His
still, small voice say, “You have bitterness.”
“How could I have?” I thought. “I have not only done
so much of my own forgiving, but have also led countless
people through prayer of forgiveness.”
Then I heard, “You have bitterness toward me.”
It was unbelievable at first, but I began to see that I had
buried this bitterness for many years because I was angry
at God for calling me into the ministry. It had been hidden
from my awareness until He confronted me with the truth.
The moment I admitted my grudging attitude and asked
forgiveness, I was instantly healed! I leapt from the chair,
jumped up and down rejoicing and took off for my study.
I share this experience in hope to help others who might
be searching for the key to their deliverance and healing.
From experience, I know that almost every individual
harbors some hidden bitterness that unknowingly affects
their life.

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 Chapter 2

WHAT IS BITTERNESS?

The heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger

does not share its joy. —Proverbs 14:10
Bitterness is an attitude—a state of one’s heart which
reflects in the countenance and the tone of voice.
Bitterness evolves from:
Unresolved expectations
Frustration of unfulfilled desire
A sense of unfulfillment
A sense of personal failure
A sense of being treated unfairly
The tension of hopelessness
We can be aware of bitterness in our heart but, because
of our hearts deceitfulness, not fathom its depth. Unexplored
heart issues are carried to the grave.

THE FIRST BITTER MAN

The first indication of bitterness in the Word of God is

in Genesis 4:5 where we find the story about Cain and Abel.
Abel gave his offering and it was acceptable to God. Cain
brought his offering, but it was not acceptable.
“And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He
did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very
angry, and his countenance fell.”

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 WHAT IS BITTERNESS?

Anger manifested in Cain to such an extent that it affected

his countenance—the way he looked—the shine upon his
face. Anger is a child of bitterness with bitterness clouding
the visage and anger spewing out of the mouth.
“So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And
why has your countenance fallen?”
Aha, sin has found its opportunity!
“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do
not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but
you should rule over it.”
Anger and resentment are doors for demonic entrance
into a person. God said to this man:
“Sin lies (crouches) at the door.”
Here we have an image of some kind of personality
(obviously a demonic personality) that God calls sin,
squatting at the door into Cain’s life wanting to get in. Like
a little cat when, every time you open the door, it runs into
your house. God personifies sin as a demon that can jump
into Cain if he gives in to his bitter anger.
“And Cain talked with Abel his brother and it came to
pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against
Abel, his brother, and slew him.”
Obviously, Cain did not rule over this thing, so it was
able to enter him bringing resentment, anger and bitterness
which activated murder. Wherever there is a pool of
bitterness there will be a spirit of murder. This terrible sin
is no longer limited to the physical act as see in I John 3:15:
“Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that
no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
“And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater
than I can bear! Surely You have driven me out this day from
the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I
shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will

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 WHAT IS BITTERNESS?

happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”

The result of that action, because of sin’s opportunity,
was that he was driven out from the face of the earth, was
dismissed by God and his relationship with God broken.
In verse fifteen we see how God had to deal with the
dreadfulness of the consequences of this sin:
“And the Lord said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills
Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the
Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill
him.”
Cain was so hated and so defiled that people would turn
on him. Such bitter, murderous people bring judgments upon
those who may relate to them and are marked with a curse of
repulsiveness to others.
The spirits of unforgiveness and bitterness induce people
to turn on you. It is difficult to be friends with them, even if
a relationship can ever be established.
Bitterness is a root that ripened in this man, broke his
relationship with God, and as a result, he turned murderous,
not only toward his brother, but toward God. Cain went out,
angry at God and the fruit of his anger has darkened the
entire earth.

BITTERNESS IN A GROUP

In Exodus 15:22-26, we find the first indication of

bitterness in an entire group—God’s chosen people, Israel.
Israel had just come out of Egypt and miraculously crossed
through the Red Sea on dry ground:
“So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they
went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three
days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they
came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah,
for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called

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 WHAT IS BITTERNESS?

Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying,

“What shall we drink?” So he cried out to the Lord, and the
Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the
waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an
ordinance for them, and there He tested them, and said, “If
you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do
what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments
and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on
you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the
Lord who heals you (Jehovah Rapha).”
Notice that after three days of journeying without water
they came to a place called Marah and could not drink the
waters because they were bitter. What was God doing?
At some time, God leads all of his chosen to bitter waters
even after a dry season. Three days without any water, and
when you finally find it, it’s bitter. What?
God knew that if the Israelites were going to grow, they
were going to have taste the bitter water and be willing to
drink it without murmuring.
The people murmured against Moses saying: “What
shall we drink?” So often when we come to a bitter
experience instead of proclaiming, “Praise God, I can do
all things through Christ which strengthens me. Lord, thy
grace is sufficient,” we murmur, which is half suppressed
complaints. Today, we find an interesting medical diagnosis
of a condition of the heart called, “Heart Murmurs.” Research
shows that it is an abnormality of the heart, but not usually
fatal. God’s peoples’ hearts were not right.
They blamed and attacked the leadership: “It is all your
fault, Moses.” These complainers knew full well that Moses
was only following God’s directions. People often sublimate
their anger at God by targeting blame for their hurts and
problems at some earthly authority rather than seeking to
know God’s ways. Sometimes the Lord doesn’t give us a

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 WHAT IS BITTERNESS?

quick miracle because He wants us find the meaning of our

malady.
“He (God) made known His ways to Moses, His acts to
the children of Israel.” –Psalm 103:7
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” –
Hosea 4:6
Many Christians still have bitterness in their hearts
toward God because they do not really understand His ways.
Word of faith or prosperity preaching continues to be
popular. Name it and claim it! I am not against naming it and
claiming it. I name demons and claim their eviction all the
time, and I also have PRO-claimed the promises of God and
seen His faithfulness year after year. I know the Lord wants
us to prosper. I believe the promises of God are “yea and
amen,” but this stream of teaching has gotten out of balance
and fallen into error. To teach that Christians should not and
cannot suffer, removes the cross from the Gospel. Some of
the adherents of such teaching have stood up and walked out
of meetings where I was teaching about the cross and the
importance of suffering in a life of faith. They considered
me a reprobate because of their “itchy ears” teachings.

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 Chapter 3

EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS

ANGER AT GOD

It seems like a contradiction to ask a Christian if they

have anger toward God, although a few I have ministered
to quickly admit they are mad at God. For the majority
of believers; however, bitterness regarding God is not a
conceivable cause for some of the oppression in their life
due to the way it can be shrouded with the hypocrisy of
religious spirits. My own experience with the pain in my
damaged hip awakened me to a personal reality I would
never have considered as a called minister of the Gospel if
the Lord had not spoken it to me.
Ultimately, every Christian must admit and face his or
her anger toward God, especially those with presumptuous
faith. I have found bitterness in regards to God’s personal
dealings and corrections to be a given, not only in my own
life, but also in every individual seeking to follow Jesus.
“God, why didn’t You hear my prayer? God why didn’t
You heal my child?”
“God, why didn’t You do this? God, why didn’t You do
that? Why did You do that?”
“Why God? Why? Why? Why?
“God, I stood on Your Word. I was taught that if I confess
that Word and stand on that Word and believe that Word, that
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 EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS

you are going to do something, and You didn’t do it and and

to be honest, I am mad at You.”
“Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord
and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.”

INFIRMITIES FROM BITTERNESS

The bitter place is where God reveals His Name as the

Healer. Bitterness and infirmity are tied together. Practically
every single infirmity in the body is rooted somehow in
bitterness. Not just arthritis or cancer, but practically every
other infirmity. God says at the bitter waters, “I Am the Lord
God that heals you.” Surely, if bitterness festers for very
long, its root will always cause an infirmity of some sort.
Dryness in the bones, arthritis, cancer, all kinds of afflictions.
When somebody comes to me with an infirmity, I am
always suspicious of bitterness being the door of entrance
for the unclean entity and ask them about any unforgiveness
in their heart. “Who or what have you not forgiven?” My
senses have been trained as such.
We see God bringing deliverance by revealing His Name
and the people appropriating the authority and power of that
Name.

DECEPTION FROM BITTERNESS

Bitterness not only tears the spirit and poisons the soul, it
also invites deception. It opens one up for deception. It leads
to Immorality. It builds walls of isolation. It leaves a trail
of broken relationships. If you look back in your life and
you have a pattern of broken relationships it is most likely
because of personal bitterness.
I John 2:11 says, “But he who hates his brother is in
darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where
he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” The
hatred given rise to by unforgiveness and bitterness draws

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 EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS

darkness into one’s life. With this darkness, insensitivity and

hardness come in.
Hidden bitterness causes immaturity, since you cannot
grow without interaction with other people in the Body of
Christ. A bitter person is going to be an immature person
because of isolation and the lack of healthy social activity.
He or she cannot relate. They keep breaking relationships due
to their arrested development as a whole personality. They
are a prime sitting ducks for deception and cult involvement.

A DOOR FOR THE OCCULT

Bitterness opens a door for the occult and inevitably

leads to some form of witchcraft in one’s life. Bitter people
need and want to control others to avoid any more hurt in
their lives which induces them to turn to fleshly strength.
Witchcraft is a work of the flesh. When you encounter
someone infected with this spirit, if you can scratch through
their exterior, you will find an angry, bitter, murderous soul
with an attitude toward God. In the light of this, I would say
that the entire genre of extra-biblical, para-church therapy
falters in the scrutiny of God’s Word and eternity.
Bitterness is not some little harmless thing we carry
around and can disregard. It leads to serious, and sometimes
deadly consequences. It can make one vulnerable as a prime
prospect for New Age mysticism. Bitter people, including
Christians, are often drawn to such anti-christ venues, with
an unconscience, hidden feeling that God has failed them in
some way.
After eight years as an ordained pastor, I left the Baptist
Denomination and the ministry. I was bitter and angry.
Looking for the answers for myself (since I sincerely felt
I had been betrayed by the church and God), I turned to
psychology and other philosophies to find my reason for
living. The famous psychologist, Abraham Maslow, became
one of my gurus. Being so bitter, I was a prime prospect for
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 EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS

such humanistic counsel desperately searching for my own

peak experience that would bring me into, what Maslow
called, self-actualization. I enrolled in graduate school and
began to study psychology. Maslow and Carl Rogers became
my spirit guides in counseling. I was there. I steeped and
seethed in it. How could I have known I was dabbling in the
occult? I was even hypnotizing people and recommending
psychotropic drugs for them.

THE FRUIT OF BITTERNESS

Hebrews 12:14 reveals the fruit of bitterness.

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without
which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest
anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of
bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many
become defiled.”
In this verse, I see three effects resulting from bitterness:
First of all, bitterness affects one’s relationship with God.
The Word says: “Follow peace with all men and holiness
without which no man shall see the Lord.” Bitterness will
cut you off from God.
Number two, it affects your relationship with yourself.
“Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God,
lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you.” So,
bitterness affects your relationship with yourself. You begin
to turn in on yourself; you begin to get self-critical; you
begin to become self-condemned and self-rejected because
of bitterness.
Notice this passage also says: “And thereby many be
defiled.” Bitterness affects your relationship with others.
Brother Carroll Thompson who taught about spiritual
warfare at Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas was a
secret referrer to our ministry. He confidentially referred
people to come to our ministry for help. He wrote a helpful

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 EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS

book called, Bruises of Satan. In his book, the brother says

that bitterness tears the spirit and poisons the soul. I totally
agree.

MORE EVIDENCE OF BITTERNESS

Here are some more symptoms of hidden bitterness:

Criticalness or Judgmentalness: Always finding something wrong.

(What misery.)

Impatience: Restlessness.
Isolation: being a loner, isolating yourself.
Infirmities: Can be numerous.

Confrontation: Seeking to correct others or “put them in their

place.”

No enduring relationships and all the relationships are

disappointing—not fulfilling.

A release of the build-up of any one or all of these internal issues

manifests as:

Anger
Rage
Grief
Depression
Withdrawal and isolation
Sometimes suicide
We do not “lose” our temper, but rashly decide to react
to a person or situation in a violent way. A display of anger
and rage is nothing less than the working of witchcraft
empowered by bitterness. God’s Word says it is a work of
the flesh.
In Ephesians 4:31, we are exhorted:
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil

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 EFFECTS OF BITTERNESS

speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

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 Chapter 4

DOORWAYS FOR BITTERNESS

Bitterness must find an opening to gain occupancy
in a person’s life. Jesus taught about some doorways for
bitterness beginning in Matthew 5:38-42:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye
and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an
evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek,
turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you
and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41
And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to
borrow from you do not turn away.”
Jesus is talking here of possible areas of bitterness.
How bitterness builds up. For instance, if a Roman soldier
demanded an Israelite to carry his pack the one mile required
by Roman law, he can could go that mile chomping and
raving and at the end of that mile, throw the pack down and
declare that he had fulfilled his obligation. But, Jesus said:
“No, no, no, you go carrying that pack praising the Lord and
tell that man about me while you walk down the road and,
by the way, tell him, “I am just going to go ahead and carry
it for you a couple of more miles because I know that you
are real tired today.”

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 DOORWAYS FOR BITTERNESS

The Lord leaves us very little latitude for our attitudes.

Jesus was constantly upbraiding the Pharisees about their
attitude regarding the outcast and needy in regards to their
social class or ethnic background. It was the highly religious
ones that passed up the wounded neighbor in the ditch. In
Deuteronomy 28, God pronounces curses on those who do
not serve Him with joy and gladness of heart. Religious
spirits generate a bitter heart out the frustration of carnal
efforts to do good. The hidden bitterness nullifies the Lord’s
joyful rewards engendering even more bitterness.
A sincerely forgiving heart, whatever whoever asks of
us, cannot beget a bitter root, nor can the countenance of
such a soul be dimmed.
In verses forty-three and forty-four of Matthew 5, Jesus
said:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love
your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to
those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you.”
When the Lord revealed demons in people (especially
Christians) to me, I quickly realized I could now sincerely
love them knowing they were often being energized by these
unclean creatures. We must realize we wrestle not against
flesh and blood but with principalities and powers—spiritual
entities. If we war against people and personalities instead
of discerning and understanding the real motivation behind
their behavior, we will breed bitterness in our hearts.

PLANK-EYED CHRISTIANS

In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus warns us to judge not that we be

not judged ourselves. Here is a powerful principle that will
keep us from suffering the curse of Cain. Such an “eye for
an eye” attitude emanates from a bitter root and passes down

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 DOORWAYS FOR BITTERNESS

the family tree as the sins of the fathers pass down. If you
go around judging and criticizing people, guess what people
are going to do to you?
Jesus gives another zinger in verses 3-5:
“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s
eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove
the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your
own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from
your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove
the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Such a critical person is left holding a smoking gun.

SELECTIVE FORGIVENESS

My Heavenly Father dealt stringently with me about this

a few years ago when I received a letter from a witch in
which, I realized, was motivated by demon influence. The
letter said that a witch had come through Dallas, heard my
radio program and the entire Texas church of Wicca was
now praying against Agape Fellowship. I was angry at that
witch, but God said, “You have to forgive that witch.”
We can get mad at witches, open the door for bitterness
and defeat ourselves in what we might consider a righteous
cause. It is the spirit of witchcraft that we should be warring
against, not the witches themselves. God, through His Holy
Spirit, will deal with the personalities.
Ministering in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as I have for
over 35 years now, I began to get bitter about people coming
from other churches wanting deliverance. When they came,
I could see where the pastors obviously had abused these
people. I was growing bitter about the churches and pastors
and Satan was using his rightful opportunity against me and
the ministry. Having effectively projected my guile to the
flock, ultimately, our entire fellowship had to repent and ask

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 DOORWAYS FOR BITTERNESS

God to forgive us.

We chose to forgive the pastors and congregations and
to release our bitterness and unforgiveness in the Name of
Jesus. The Lord told me to just do what He had told me to
do and not to mind what others were doing. Bitterness can
take you far off track from the calling of God and even lead
you to a false calling.
Forgiveness of others is essential, as we see here:
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive
men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses.” —Matthew 6:14-15

SUPPRESSING THE HOLY SPIRIT

Then in Ephesians 4:30 we find:

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you
were sealed for the day of redemption.”
The defiling root of bitterness and its branches of wrath,
anger, clamor and evil speaking grieve the Holy Spirit,
which will cause depression and heaviness in one’s life.
If you are having trouble moving in the gifts of the Holy
Spirit or receiving tongues, it could be because of a root
of bitterness that is grieving the Holy Spirit from operating
through you and keeping you from receiving anything from
God. Like Cain, you are hidden from God and defiled.
My friend and Brother in the Lord, Norman Parish
experienced a period of great angelic activity in Guatemala
told me he discovered that angels can only stay in a human
body for a little while because of defilement of the flesh.
What would hinder such angelic stirring more than a bitter
vessel? Bitterness poisons the whole being. It pumps poison
into our soul and throughout our flesh. Angels beware!

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 DOORWAYS FOR BITTERNESS

THE TORTURERS

In Matthew 18:34, Jesus was shares the parable where

the servant was called in and was going to be thrown in
prison, but he asked for mercy and his master extended his
mercy and forgave the servant of the debt. The servant then
went to the people that owed him and began to throw them
in prison.
“And his master was angry, and delivered him to the
torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My
heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his
heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Need it be said here that the tormentors are obviously
demons who exercise their legal rights to oppress and harass
in an unforgiver’s life?
In II Corinthians 2:10-11 Paul lays down a principal:
“Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For
if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that
one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan
should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant
of his devices.”
Unforgiveness and bitterness are great advantages for
the devices of Satan. These are doors for unclean spirits to
come into our lives—judging, not forgiving, not turning the
other cheek and not being willing to go the extra mile.

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 Chapter 5

THE REMEDY FOR BITTERNESS

THE REMEDY OF THE CROSS

God’s remedy at Marah was to sweeten the water with at

tree. God had Moses throw a tree in the water and it became
sweet. That tree is a type of the Cross—the tree of Calvary.
The only way we are going to deal with our bitterness is at
the Cross. At Calvary. Your only hope, your only solution.
You will not work your way out of your own bitterness. You
will not come to some point in time where you are going to
feel like forgiving. You won’t ever get there. Do not wait
on it—it will not happen. You are going to have to come to
Calvary and face the fact that there is only one thing you can
do and that is to do what was done for you, FORGIVE. It is
a death experience.
I have to let this thing go. I have to say, “God, you are
perfect. You can do no wrong. I am wrong, you are right. I
do now renounce and expel all bitterness I have toward You
and any other person.”
It is significant that, following the Marah experience,
God gives a revelation of Who He is by declaring one of
His Names: Jehovah Rapheka (Rapha)—“I Am The Lord
who heals you.” The first time we find such a revelation of

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 THE REMEDY FOR BITTERNESS

the nature of our God is in Genesis 22:14 where Abraham

declared God to be Jehovah Jireh which means, “Jehovah
will see or provide.” Now He makes known He is the healer.
Not only does our God provide, but He also heals. It is who
He is and He well knows what bitterness can do to His
people.
People say they are not sure about Jesus healing people,
but healing was revealed in the Bible long before Calvary.

RIDDING YOUR LIFE OF HIDDEN BITTERNESS

I truly believe we can completely purge ourselves of

all bitterness if we so desire, but first of all, we must see it
and admit it. From this point, we can take these steps for
deliverance and healing:

1- Actuate Forgiveness - The Legal Release

Objectively chose to forgive and release the issues

you are able to see in your heart. Decide to make
forgiveness a part of your lifestyle forever. Continually
proclaim it audibly until the emotions abate and peace
settles in your soul.

2- Deny Self - The Emotional Release

Instead of continuing to bury or hide the bitterness,

deny the self its assumed right to be upset or angry.
This is where the cross is applied in our life as
followers of Jesus Christ. He made it plain that, if we
are to be His disciples, we are to deny ourselves, take
up OUR cross and follow Him. (Luke 9:23)
This is a very important step. After (sometimes) years
of assuming justice justifies a disposition of resentment
and anger, it is very difficult to see and accept the
absolute requirement of letting go of every right to
life. The total Christ-like life calls for unconditional

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 THE REMEDY FOR BITTERNESS

submission to the sovereignty of the Creator who is

perfect in wisdom, purpose and love.
We must come to the point where we see that the
Father in Heaven has perfectly ordered everything in
our life and surrender our ego, pride and presupposed
rights to the reality (truth) of His actual care and love.

3- Cast Down Logic - The Spiritual Release

Our logical mind assumes we deserve the right to be

upset or angry, but when we bring such thought into
captivity to the knowledge of Christ, we find it is just
an imagination that does not stand-up in the light of
the qualifications of a sincere disciple of Jesus.

4- Rein in the Rage - Anger is a Choice

See that yelling and slamming doors accomplished

nothing but hurt and pain. It really is a choice. STOP
IT!

5- Let Patience do its Perfect Work - Surrender

Finally, we submit to our Heavenly Father’s perfect

plan for our life and let Him deal with the flesh and
blood which we are told not to wrestle with.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into
various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith
produces patience. But let patience have its perfect
work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking
nothing.” —James 1:2-4
Now Give Thanks for the peace you have found.

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 Chapter 6

FINDING REST

THE STORY OF CALEB

The outcome of Caleb’s life in Joshua 14:6-13 reveals a

life lived without bitterness:
“Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal.
And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him:
‘You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man
of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. I was
forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent
me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought
back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my
brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people
melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. So Moses
swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot
has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s
forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my
God.’ And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He
said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this
word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and
now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am
as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as
my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both
for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this
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 FINDING REST

mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard
in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities
were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with
me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.’
And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son
of Jephunneh as an inheritance.”
What a testimony! Here was a man who had gone out and
done a work for God as a spy, obeyed the Word of the Lord,
came back as a faithful steward of the Word of God, gave
a true report and was totally and completely rejected by all
of the people but two. Because all of the others rejected his
true report and trust in God, he had to wait forty-five years
in the wilderness, living with those unbelieving, murmuring
people every day; suffering with them every day; eating that
bland manna every day for forty-five years. Yet, at the end
of those forty-five years he could stand up and say, “I am as
strong as the day that Moses sent me.”
Do you know what that tells me? There was no bitterness
in that man.
I not sure I could have done what Caleb did staying there
with those people forty-five years thinking every day: “If it
was not for you, I wouldn’t have to be here. I preached the
truth to you forty-five years ago and look at us.” (Maybe a
lot of the fire and brimstone preaching we hear is out of a
heart of anger and bitterness?)
What a man of God! Even after forty-five years of going
through the hardship of the wilderness, he had no bitterness
and was able to stand up and say: “My strength is as it was
forty-five years ago.” Obviously, the reason he had his
strength is because he did not have any bitterness. A lot of
us would be stronger today if we did not have bitterness.
This eighty-five year old man, Caleb, was able to stand
up and say: “Give me this mountain!!” He knew it was his
mountain, and he waited patiently for God’s promise to him.

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 FINDING REST

This is the voice of the overcomer. Age is an attitude. You

are never too old. God will rejuvenate you if you will wade
out of the swamp of bitterness and drain all of its murky
sewage into the sea of God’s forgetfulness.
Today we have millions of old people lingering in care
centers lonely, oppressed and bitter. Eventually, many
become mean and caustic. As the flesh weakens, the demons
begin to take the upper hand and manifest their true nature
through these aged souls. How sad.
After my epiphany in 1977, I asked the Lord why He let
me leave the ministry like I did. Prior to my abdication and
departure, I was crying out to Him for some kind of sign
or help, but I had to go twelve years out there in the world
away from my original denomination and the local church,
to find the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the enlightenment
of the truth in God’s Word.
“Why didn’t you tell me about it then, Lord?”
One day, years later, the Lord answered me with a
word of knowledge showing me that, at that time, with all
the demonic issues in my life, such a blessing would have
been perverted and stunted by denominational doctrine and
personal pride.
God did not want a super Baptist, He wanted a super
saint.
So this man, Caleb, stood up and said: “Give me my
mountain!” It did not appear to be a wise demand. There
were giants all over that mountain, in fact Hebron was
formerly name after one of the giants named Arba, who was
the greatest man among the Anakim. Nonetheless, this old
man said: “That mountain is mine, and I want it. Turn me
loose! Let me have at it!”
Full of giants?
Eighty-five year old man?

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 FINDING REST

What an inheritance! This was the place where David

began to set up his Kingdom for seven years before going to
Jerusalem. The name Hebron means a place of alliance and
covenant. Here is a beautiful picture of a man who refused
bitterness in his soul and received the reward of God’s
promise.

GOD’S PROVIDED REST

Finally, after the march out of Egypt, traversing the Red

Sea and the testing at Marah, God leads them to a place of
rest.
“Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells
of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the
waters.”
Following the healing deliverance came the rest and order.
Here is a parable of governmental order with the twelve wells
of water, twelve being God’s number of governmental order
and the 70 palm trees, the number 70 represents restoration.
Herein is a picture of a heavenly place. It is wonderful to get
rid of bitterness and experience the rest of one’s soul.
In the ministry, especially the deliverance ministry, we
must guard against becoming bitter when we get tired. It is
so easy to wear down and say: “Lord, God how many more
messed up people can there be for us to deal with? How
much longer is this going to go on? How many more times
is this person going to come back here and want prayer?” I
tam tired of “Deliverance-holics.”
Weariness through lack of rest invites bitterness.
Bitterness will cause you to lose heart for the battle and
suffer defeat. R & R is important because and if you do not
take it, you are going to get bitter. I have met several dear
saints through the years that have given-up ministry because
they burned themselves out. It grieves me to say that I could
see their bitterness.

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 FINDING REST

NO MORE BITTERNESS

May this writing expose the clandestine curse of

bitterness is your life, dear reader, and as you appeal to the
Lord for deliverance and healing in the following model
prayer, find your soul flooded with the sweet waters of Zion
and the peace that passes understanding.

PEACE

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 A PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE

Father in heaven, you are the only true and living God. I
desire this day for you to be the Lord of all my life. I come
to you committing and surrendering my entire being to you.
You are my creator, my life and my reason for being.
Knowing how desperately wicked and deceitful my heart
can be, I ask you to reveal to me any hidden bitterness in my
life. I want to hold nothing back from myself regarding any
unforgiveness that I may still harbor in my heart. I willingly
choose to release any and all issues with any individual or
situation to be totally forgiven and, with the help of the Holy
Spirit, completely forgotten, never to be brought up again.
My Father, I confess bitterness toward you in regards to
your sovereignty in my life. I submit myself to your perfect
wisdom and will in all matters of my existence as a son of
man here on the earth. I renounce the urge in my soul to resist
and rebel against any of your dealings in my life through any
person or situation. It is not for me to tell you what is best
for me. I want this day and from now on to release this into
your loving hands.
I do willingly, by choice, forgive these persons: (Names)
I also choose to forgive these past traumatic and abusive
events in my past: (Describe)
I choose this day to completely deny myself and take up
my cross and follow Jesus, my Savior and Your Son.
In the power of the name and blood of Jesus Christ my
deliverer, I cast down every lie of logic and renounce every
false imagination in my mind and, from henceforth, seek
to bring every thought into captivity to the knowledge of
Christ. I confess I now have the mind of Christ.
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 A PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE

Father in heaven, you are the only true and living God. I
desire this day for you to be the Lord of all my life. I come
to you committing and surrendering my entire being to you.
You are my creator, my life and my reason for being.
Knowing how desperately wicked and deceitful my heart
can be, I ask you to reveal to me any hidden bitterness in my
life. I want to hold nothing back from myself regarding any
unforgiveness that I may still harbor in my heart. I willingly
choose to release any and all issues with any individual or
situation to be totally forgiven and, with the help of the Holy
Spirit, completely forgotten, never to be brought up again.
My Father, I confess bitterness toward you in regards to
your sovereignty in my life. I submit myself to your perfect
wisdom and will in all matters of my existence as a son of
man here on the earth. I renounce the urge in my soul to resist
and rebel against any of your dealings in my life through any
person or situation. It is not for me to tell you what is best
for me. I want this day and from now on to release this into
your loving hands.
I do willingly, by choice, forgive these persons: (Names)
I also choose to forgive these past traumatic and abusive
events in my past: (Describe)
I choose this day to completely deny myself and take up
my cross and follow Jesus, my Savior and Your Son.
In the power of the name and blood of Jesus Christ my
deliverer, I cast down every lie of logic and renounce every
false imagination in my mind and, from henceforth, seek
to bring every thought into captivity to the knowledge of
Christ. I confess I now have the mind of Christ.
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 Father, I ask you for the strength to no longer manifest
anger regardless of what I encounter with people and
situations in the future. Make me ever aware that it is my
choice about how I respond, and may, in the strength of the
Christ that’s within me, I react in love.
Instead of turning bitter, I determine to count it all joy
when I come into various trials, knowing full well that the
testing of my faith will produce patience and I believe that it
will do a perfect work me.
Thank you, father, for your patience with me and love
for me.
In the name of Jesus, I pray.

AMEN

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 COME FOR MINISTRY

Many have come to our campus from all over the world
to receive personal ministry. You are welcome to contact us
should you desire deliverance and healing. The Lord has
moved in miraculous ways here.

Call: (817) 283-1700

Email: [email protected]

Complete the Personal Information Form on our

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