Heb.12:5-11 Spiritual Training
Billy
Bob was on his way to school one
morning when he saw an outhouse perched
on edge of Bayou
A)Feeling that mischievous streak welling up inside
of him that little boys often feel –he gave it a hard shove
B)He watched outhouse tumble into the Bayou below /
no big deal until he got home! He was met by His
father
“Billy Bob tell truth – did you push outhouse into the Bayou?”Well
daddy - studied about George Washington in school today - and like George -
can’t tell a lie - yes I did!
But Daddy I told the truth - George Washington’s daddy
didn’t whup him when he admitted to chopping down cherry tree
That may be true son - but George Washington’s daddy wasn’t
in the tree!
In
v.5 We are exhorted not to DESPISE the
Chastening of the Lord – Don’t Despise when you get spanked
A)But the fact of the matter is No one enjoys getting a spanking
B) Anyone ever bend over
– Say come on Dad let me have it/lay it on me
& make it a good one !!
1)
I never did – My kids
never have –
C) Heard the story of one boy
who was about 7yrs old - in bed - mom & Dad in Bed
1) Called - Dad - I’m thirsty can you bring me a glass of water -
dad responded - No son - had enough water- go to sleep -
D) 5 Minutes later - boy was
heard again. - Dad I can’t sleep - can I please have a glass of water - Ask again I am
going to come in there &………. Dad when You come in here to spank me - can you bring a glass of water
Kids
typically don’t asks for Spankings and they don’t enjoy Discipline
A)A kids view it is always a negative thing: If I do
that I will get a spanking / I got
Busted / I’m TOAST / in trouble
B) Parents
perspective is entirely different – We
view it as Child rearing
My Dad – Doing this because I love
you – Yea right –
1)
Hurts me
more than it hurts You - ( Wanted to
say / Sure Dad – you bend over let me experience
how much it hurts you )
C) You really don’t understand that until you are a Parent & you have to discipline your own kids – Not an enjoyable experience
D) The Lord feels the same way: He Doesn’t enjoy Disciplining us
Lam.3:31-33 The Lord will not reject his people forever.32 Although he brings sorrow, he
also has mercy and great love.33 He does not like to punish people
or make them sad.
Sometimes
People can have this picture of God – Angry Orger / big stick looking for
someone to mess up – So He can Wack them
A)Not the case at – He doesn’t enjoy it or take
pleasure in it but He does it because He knows it is necessary
B) Now it is important that we have a clear
understanding of the word Chasten -
1) The word actually means Child training / speaks of a method used in
helping us mature, grow & develop as
His children.
C)In fact the writer of Hebrews tells us in v.6 that
Chastening is really a sign of God’s love for you / Whom
He loves He Chastens -
1) And it
IDENTIFIES YOU as His Child
D) See God is the Perfect Father who is
committed to His Children .
1) He loves
them so much & will do what is necessary to see them grow properly / He will abandon his kids / neglect them or shrink back in his parental duties in
training them
Now
In O.T. times the people tended regard things like drought, famine, or the attack of the enemy as a sign of His Displeasure
A) These Christians would be prone to regard the
difficulties & the persecutions / they were going through in the same way!
B) But what the writer is seeking to point out
here that chastening is not always a sign that you are not right w/
God
1)
But It is always a
sign that you are His sons & He is
using the Difficulty you are in to train you, to build you up & to grow you up
C)Your
Heavenly father loves you enough to do what is Necessary in your Life to Train
you
D)
Now Chastening or training will come in various forms & for
different reasons : Consider 4
Sometimes the
Chastening is Correctional – JONAH
A)Jonah / called by God
to preach to Nineveh. But Jonah refused . You are a Good God …repent you
forgive
1)
How like Pastor like Jonah? ) wanted them in Hell
B)So Jonah Rebelled & fled ; (I love this) God doesn't give up on Jonah /
1) Catches a boat to Tarshish- opposite direction
C)But Seeking to correct
& to train his wayward prophet God sends a
storm . Now Had Jonah
repented / I believe storm stopped!
1) Stubborn! "Throw me over board!" Rather die
than obey God
D) But The Lord
doesn't give up( I would have ) / God
sends a whale /Finally after 3 days
Jonah repents
1) Jonah learned 1st
hand of the grace of God!
So
the Chastening that we go thru is a sign of His love – He didn’t give up on
Jonah & He will not give up on You or Me
A)He doesn’t just let us go – doesn’t leave us heading down the wrong path
B)He
loves us enough to correct us & to train us so that we don’t get hurt He has the Best for us / wants the best out
of us
C) My kids / Touch the
stove –No warning – spanking / Being mean? No! I’m trying to save them from
great Pain –
Now a
Child who doesn’t have a parent / or has one that is selfish / who cares more
about himself/herself – let their kids do whatever
A)But a loving parent
will train & Correct –
B) So The Writer points
out here v.8 – if you are in sin & you are not being disciplined – Shows that you are not a Son – Illegitimate
1)
Might call yourself a
Christian – But mistaken / Because God loves his kids enough to discipline them
when they are in Sin / Rebellion
C) When in Rebellion He isn’t going to let you alone for very long – until you
face the consequences of your sin – Prodigal in
Pig Pen
God will allow you to get there – In hopes that it
Brings you to your senses
Now pause & note We must realize that there is a great diff. between God's CORRECTION & His
judgmental punishment.
A)As Christians our
Punishment for sin was paid in full by JESUS
at Calvary! God does not exact
double payment for any sin!
B) Though we deserve
God’s wrathful punishment because of our sin, we will never have to face it,
because Jesus FACED it for us.
1)
Neither God’s love nor
His justice would allow Him to require payment for what His Son has already
paid in full.
C) So In discipline, God is not acting as a
judge, but a Father
D) But God will allow us
to experience the painful consequences of our rebellion & sin
1)
Sometimes He will even
orchestrate those events like in the case of Jonah because He loves us enough
to Correct us
D)
Because He loves us / He makes it very hard for
us to Backslide
The Conviction of the H.S. is so Great –
that Miserable in your sin /
1)
Too much of the
Lord to enjoy the world / too much of world to enjoy to really enjoy the Lord
So
sometimes God’s Chastening is for the purpose of Correction like in the case of
Jonah
A)Other times it is INSTRUCTIONAL like in the case of Job
B)Job wasn't in
rebellion / sin / righteous man / yet God allowed Him to go through some heavy training
1) Job lost everything / health/ family/ friends
C)
But listen to what he said at the end of it
all! Job 42:3,5
'Who is this who
hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not
understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."I have
heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.
C) Job is saying/ I heard about you I knew
about you but Now I Know you- / Through his suffering Job was given a magnificent view of God!
1)
He learned of God's
holy majesty, His deliverance, Care, Power,
Counsel, & His defense .
Discipline
can also teach sympathy for others. Again Job’s experience is a perfect
illustration. (42:10).
“And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when
he prayed for his friends”
A)Through his troubles,
Job saw God more clearly, himself more clearly,
and others more clearly. He became more sensitive & understanding
B)So in Job’s example we understand that Chastening may not come because we are doing poorly but because we are doing well
Job was
like a spiritual athlete, and because of his excellence , God was like a
wise coach – who brought greater stress & Challenge to Job
1) so that Job might ASCEND TO UNDREAMED LEVELS OF SPIRITUALITY
So
sometimes Chastening is Correctional / other times Instructional / And
sometimes it is Preventional – The case of Paul 2 Cor.12
A)Paul was taken into heaven – saw what no man has ever seen / so grand Paul said – Human words cannot express
B) Paul also shared
there that because of His Revelation – He was inflicted w/ a THORN IN THE FLESH –
1)
Purpose was to prevent
Paul from becoming Prideful
C) That thorn in the Flesh was a Constant reminder
to Paul that he was just a man / reminder of his WEAKNESS
1)
That he was a man that
needed to be dependant upon the Grace of God
I am what I am by the Grace of God !!!!!
D)I believe that any time that Paul began to think
otherwise that thorn would Prick him – Reminder not
become prideful
1) Constant reminder of the Sufficiency of God’s grace – In His weakness God would be
Strong
E) So sometimes the Chastening or training can be Preventional
#4 Motivational - Early Church in Jerusalem.
A) Persecution was sent to get them going in the
direction the Lord wanted them. / Jerusalem / Judea / Samaria / Utter most
parts -
B) Well they hadn’t left
Jerusalem – God allowed persecution to get them out of their Comfort Zones
C)He does the same for
us /Comfort zones / move us out / spread us out!
Job transfer / new
neighborhood / new church! He is doing a work
1)
God’s desire to train
you & move you out
Wilson Johnson, the
founder of Holiday Inn motels, once said, "When I was forty years old I
worked in a sawmill. One morning the
boss told me I was fired. Depressed and
discouraged, I felt like the world had caved in.
When I told my wife what
had happened, she asked me what I was going to do. I replied, "I'm going to mortgage our little home and go
into the building business.' My first venture was the construction of two small
buildings. Within
five years I was a multimillionaire!
At the time it happened, I didn't understand why I was fired. Later, I saw that it was all a part of God's wondrous plan to get me into the way
of his choosing."
D)Is God seeking to Move
you? – Motivate you – Ministry or something
New Blessings are on the Horizon ?
So
out His love for us the Lord will allow us to go through Training to work in us
One or all these reasons!
A) To correct- sin / instruct / prevent/ to
motivate!
A man who was asked why
he was looking over a wall replied, “Because I
can’t see through it.”
B) When Christians
cannot see through the wall of pain, confusion, hardship, or despair,
1)
they need only look
over the wall into the face of their loving heavenly
Father. – Understand His Divine Purpose
for what going thru
C) What has been your
outlook concerning the Chastening Hand of Your heavenly Father ?
Now the writer gives us some further insight into this by
noting the results of our training & Discipline! V10 Partakers of His holiness!
A) God is doing a work in us to make us like
Himself / Holy/
The Discipline & trials are part of that training process!
B) Imagine going out & mining for
Gold! Find a Huge Nugget
1) The true & deepest value of that gold will not be
brought
until the gold is refined
C) So
take the gold & throw it into the crucible / fire / intensely heated .
1) As the gold sits in
that environment / all the impurities /
worthless particles the dross rises & burns
D) All that
devalues the gold is removed / the gold
comes out of the fire more valuable than
when it went in!
1)
Knows it is Right –
Sees His face in the Reflection
E)King George China cups
the Black is burnt off / the Gold is Burnt in
1) That is what God’s Chastening does for us
– Black out / Gold in !!!
2nd result
V11 Yields peaceable fruit of righteousness / Increase fruit
A) If you were a grape vine / produced a good crop of grapes / excited proud / guess what? / Vine dresser
is going to come & Prune
B) So that next yr. you
will be even more Fruitful
C)No green thumb gardener starve / my wife loves that stuff
"I'm going to prune
that tree " Great came home/
Gone!
1) But here is the thing , It Grew back even more beautiful
D)That is what the Lord does in our lives!
JOH 15:1,2 "I am the true
vine, and My Father is the vine dresser.
"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and
every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
E)
God wants us to bear fruit so He will
Prune us He will cut back the foliage in our lives every thing that doesn't
belong!
1)
He will go to great
lengths to make us fruitful /
Luke
13 Vineyard owner comes looking for fruit – Give it One more year /Dig around
it & fertilize it
A)That is what He will
do in our lives Dig up the garbage fertilize it / holes He pours in Himself
B)So God allows us to go through trials & to be
disciplined so that make us more like Him / Bear more fruit!
C) I came across this
quote that depicts well what our attitude should be toward God’s Chastening
“And so what do I say? I say let the rains of disappointment come,
if they water the plants of spiritual grace. Let the winds of adversity blow,
if they serve to root more securely the trees that God has planted. I say, let
the sun of prosperity be eclipsed, if that brings me closer to the true light
of life. Welcome, sweet discipline, discipline designed for my joy, discipline
designed to make me what God wants me to be.”
Listen
a loving heavenly Father says to His Kids – Because I love you I am going to
seek to Protect you Instruct you / when Nec. Correct you
A)If you are saved today you have a loving heavenly father who loves you and wants the best for you so
B) And because He loves
you & wants the best for you – He will discipline you in order to get the best out of you
C) If you are not a Christian today – God is not your
father – remain in your sin / He will be your judge
1)
In your life is a
Devil that Jesus said was a thief / robber / comes to Kill rob & destroy
D) He knows that he is
going down & wants to take as many w/ Him as He possibly can
1)
He is like a drug
dealer who only wants to see you get hooked on sin so that your life will be
ruined & you will forever be in his clutches
E) So he will keep supplying your habit / putting up w/
your excuses – because as long as he can get you to keep doing that –never free
Transition:
Notice verse 7 You Know that it is normal for a Father to Chasten His Kids –
They knew that it was engrained in their Culture
A)In our Culture today – many don’t know that it is right & normal for a parent to discipline their Children
B) Many people have
bought into a lie that was propagated by DR. Spock many yrs ago – that kids are
basically good / not Bad
1)
We just need to let the
goodness Blossom
C) Kids aren’t Bad –
they just do bad things & they need to be educated not to do those Bad
things – Goodness comes out
Problem is
the Bible declares in sin my mother conceived me
A)The Bible says that from conception – we are depraved / we are born w/ a sin nature
B) We are not basically
good people who just occasionally do Bad things but we are ROTTEN TO THE CORE
C) Those of you who are
parents Know this : My own Kids I didn’t need to give them a lesson on how to
Lie – came naturally
1)
I didn’t have to teach
them how to be SELFISH or to throw TEMPER TANTRUMS – it was engrained in them
D) I did need to teach
them / How to be good / the difference between right & wrong
But
many parents in our society today have bought into this lie Kids are good –
just do bad things : Result :
A)We are currently raising the most Rebellious / anarchist / and Violent Generation in the History of the US.
C) Help of Groups like
CPS / taken the paddle out of the Class room – Schools are in Chaos
1)
Taken Paddle out of
the Homes – My dad abused me
God says we
need to Paddle our kids Prov.13:24
4 He who spares his rod hates his son, Heavy – not I love them to much to Discipline them – You don’t love them at all if you don’t
But he who loves him disciplines
him promptly. Again note that: Not
going to count to 3 / threaten / not going to give time out – PROMPTLY
CH 19:18 Chasten your son
while there is hope,
And do not set your heart on his destruction. NIV don’t be a willing participant in their
destruction
A)Deal w/ them now – while there is hope – there comes a time older where you can’t discipline them anymore
B) Do it now while there is hope & don’t be a willing participant in their destruction
1)
When you don’t Discipline your kids / you are participating
in their destruction – result of their Rebellion
Ch.22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of correction will drive it far
from him.
A)Foolishness is bound
up – In bred in the Heart – of a
Child – but the Rod of Correction will drive it from Him
B) Today popular Plea
for violent crime offenders – Mendez brothers – We are sick – we need Help /
Disease made us kill our parents
1)
Society says we need
to rehab them – give Prozac & Ritalin
C) Excuse Behavior – so
there are no repercussions for our Actions
1)
Told my kids if you
become good at making excuses that is all that you will be good for
D) Education is need :
Board of Education applied to the Seat of understanding . Drive out the
FOOLISHNESS
Ch.23:13,14
Do not withhold correction from a child,
For if you
beat(CHASTEN) him with a rod, he will not die. (Great!!!)
14 You
shall beat (CHASTEN) him with a rod,
And deliver his
soul from hell.
A)The word hell here –dual meaning – can mean Literal Hell / Your commitment to follow thru – save your child from Hell
B) But it can also mean – Incarceration – Kids are in bondage to guilt in their Soul – Soul becomes like a prison –
1)
Did you know many are
prison today because wanted to be caught
C) The Guilt was so strong
– that they wanted to be caught to deal w/ it
D) Spanking Brings a
releasing of the Guilt – Their sin has been dealt w/
Spanking also RESTORES
THE RELATIONSHIP – They Cry
A)We hug / embrace /
there is a restoration that takes place.
CH. 29:15 The rod and rebuke
give wisdom,
But a child left to himself brings shame to
his mother.
A)Dads throw themselves into work – ignore – moms can’t
Rod & Rebuke –the two go together
Rod = Physical spanking deals w/ the guilt
Rebuke or Reproof – Spiritual instruction
A)Why that is wrong – what the Bible has to say about it
B) The heart of God on why He won’t allow it
F.) Listen carefully - sin is
not bad because it is forbidden - sin is forbidden because it’s bad
1.) Most people think sin is bad
because God forbade it - not so
G.) A loving Father forbids sin
- warns against sin and is grieved by sin because He knows the effects it can
have on us
1.) on humanity, on families, on
people individually
H.) And God hates sin because it
separates us form knowing Him
1.) So God saw man in this
state: and decided as a loving Father - to do something about it
Listen
a loving heavenly Father says to His Kids – Because I love you I am going to
seek to Protect you Instruct you / when Nec. Correct you
A)If you are saved today you have a loving heavenly father who loves you and wants the best for you so
B) And because He loves
you & wants the best for you – He will discipline you in order to get the best out of you
C) If you are not a Christian today – God is not your
father – remain in your sin / He will be your judge
2)
In your life is a
Devil that Jesus said was a thief / robber / comes to Kill rob & destroy
D) He knows that he is
going down & wants to take as many w/ Him as He possibly can
2)
He is like a drug
dealer who only wants to see you get hooked on sin so that your life will be
ruined & you will forever be in his clutches
F) So he will keep supplying your habit / putting up w/
your excuses – because as long as he can get you to keep doing that –never free