https://www.bible.com/events/49291217
Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg
Christ Above All: A Study in Hebrews Part 8
Hebrews 12:4-8
After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.
Hebrews 12:4-8
In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children? My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off big-time, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.
Many would agree that one of the most difficult parts of parenting is disciplining your children. As I read the scripture in Chapter 12, I realize that the writer of Hebrews is pulling out some of the very same phrases that we use as parents when talking about God’s discipline.
1. “I’m doing this because I love you!”
Disciple is in the word discipline. Discipleship means discipline. Without discipline, we can’t be disciples.
God is a disciplinarian, and the discipline that He provides is because He has a person al relationship with us. He loves us!
God’s discipline comes from a place of protection and love, not condemnation.
Proverbs 3:11-12
My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
2. “Rules are there or a reason, and this is for your own good.”
Boundaries and rules from the Lord are not designed to suck all fun out of life, they’re to protect us and keep us holy.
Hebrews 12:18-19
You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking.
3. I’m not asking you to like it. I am asking you to obey. One day you will understand.
-The word trained in the greek means vigorous exercise.
Hebrews 12:11
No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
The late Tom Landry, Former coach of the Dallas Cowboys said this, “The job of a coach is to make players do what they don’y want to do in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.”
An athlete must strive to improve their abilities. The understand that the suffering is temporary compared to the gain and reward they receive afterwards. Likewise, our spiritual lives can flourish when we recognize challenges as signs of God’s guidance and discipline.
No Pain, No Gain!
“The fact that He doesn’t allow us to stray away from Him is love in action. He doesn’t ignore us, He comes after us to keep us right in His sight.” – Pastor Kerry WIllis
Romans 5:3-5
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
We can react to discipline in 3 ways.
Resist It
Accept it Grudgingly
Embrace it willingly
( 5 Truths about God’s Discipline, Rick Ezell)
“When God disciples us, He isn’t getting back at us. He is drawing us back to Him.” (Rick Ezell)
God’s chastening is not His rejection, It’s proof of His great love for us.
4. “It hurts me more than it hurts you!”
How can we possibly battle the enemy if we aren’t disciplined and trained to be like our Heavenly Father?
But an army that trusts and respects the commands of their chief will surely win. Especially when God is their commander and chief.