The DISCIPLE’s DISCIPLINE—Hebrews 12:4-11
Attention:
Discipline
A Butterfly:
Pre-Emergent from cocoon...
Little Bobby notices its struggle wants to help & so splits open the cocoon.
The butterfly emerges with shriveled wings & swollen body.
The restrictive cocoon & struggle are needed for pumping fluid from body to wings.
The butterfly was never able to be what it was meant to be, & perished!
Christians are likewise trained & molded by our struggles.
Need:
The writer to the Hebrews revealed the rationale behind God’s discipline.
God’s people should know the rationale behind God’s discipline.
What is the logic/rationale/grounds behind God’s discipline?
Why does God discipline His people?
4 grounds/rationales/factors in accepting/receiving God’s discipline.
1—A Factor in accepting God’s discipline is...
The LOW RESISTANCE Factor(:4)
Explanation:(:4)
:4—“You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;...”
It is known by the writer that the audience has not been so resistant to their sin(:1) that their blood has been shed in the attempt/cause.
One’s victorious striving against sin can result in many ‘negative’ factors such as—having one’s own blood shed...Sidelined by society...Prejudice against you—housing, purchases, jobs, education, transportation.
The ‘great drops of blood’ which Jesus shed in His battle with the temptation to avoid the Cross, were shed as a result of His successful resistance to His own flesh’s desire(See Lk. 22:44).
Lk. 22:42-44—Jesus in prayer said—...“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Rom. 3:25-26—Of Christ Jesus—“whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” God is completely satisfied in Christ.
Rom. 5:9—“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
Rev. 1:4-6—“John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you & peace from Him who is & who was & who is to come, & from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, & from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, & the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us & washed us from our sins in His own blood, & has made us kings & priests to His God & Father, to Him be glory & dominion forever & ever. Amen.”
Argumentation:
Gen. 4:7—God to Cain—“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.””
1Cor. 10:13—“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
In EVERY temptation, God has provided your means of escape that will give Him—neither you, nor another—glory.
2Cor. 13:5—“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified.”
Eph. 1:7—“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”
Jn. 15:4-8—“Abide in Me[Jesus], & I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, & I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch & is withered; & they gather them & throw them into the fire, & they are burned. If you abide in Me, & My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, & it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
Illustration:
Ben over-weight/Coffee breaks always brought bakery goodies/Dr. enforced diet—No bakery goods/Month later/Ben drives by bakery on work related errand/Thinks to himself,—‘One trip inside wouldn’t hurt would it?’/Yet he’s wary & undecided so he prays, ‘Lord, if its okay for me to go in the bakery then give me a parking space right by the front door’/Ben waltzes into work with an armload of bakery goods/Everybody says, ‘We thought you were on a diet!?’/He responds, ‘I am, but the Lord showed me that its okay for today because I asked Him to give me a parking space right by the door & sure enough, on the eighth trip around the block there it was!
Application:
?Is your RESISTANCE Factor too LOW? Does it match the RESISTANCE Factor of Jesus?
?Do You see the Justification for Accepting God’s Discipline?
2—A Factor in accepting God’s discipline is...
The FAILING MEMORY Factor(:5-6)
Explanation:(:5-6)
:5—“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;”
:6—“For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
The actual wording of the exhortation is from Prov. 3:11-12...
Prov. 3:11-12—“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.”
It is also known by the writer that his audience has forgotten something which they had previously known. They have forgotten an exhortation(goading reminder). The exhortation had been & still is in effect. The exhortation was/is addressed to the audience. The exhortation comprises one aspect of their relationship—as sons— to that of the source & strength of the exhortation.
God’s children are told that they are not to take God’s discipline lightly.
However, neither are they to lose hope/become discouraged in the midst of discipline.
We must carefully maintain a balance/middle road between pride & discouragement.
:6—“For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.””
This balance must be maintained because of one fact. This fact is that the one(s) whom the Lord disciplines are the very ones He loves.
God ‘scourges’ every son He receives. This scourging is not for punishment’s sake but for discipline’s sake.
Argumentation:
Ex. 13:3-9—“And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites & the Hittites & the Amorites & the Hivites & the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk & honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, & on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. “Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the LORD did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ “It shall be as a sign to you on your hand & as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.”
Num. 10:10—“Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, & at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings & over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; & they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the LORD your God.”
Rom. 15:14-15—“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God,”
2Pet. 1:12-15—“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know & are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.”
Illustration:
Dear Cousin:
Just a line to say I’m living, that I’m not among the dead.
Though I’m getting more forgetful and mixed up in the head.
For sometimes I can’t remember when I stand at foot of stairs...If I must go up for something or I’ve just come down from there.
And before the “fridge” so often my poor mind is filled with doubt...Have I just put food in there or have I come to take some out?
There are times when it’s dark out with my nightcap on my head...I don’t know if I’m retiring or just getting out of bed.
If it’s not my turn to write you there’s no need of getting sore.
I may think that I have written and don’t want to be a bore.
So remember I do love you and wish that you were here,
But now it’s nearly mail time so I must say goodbye, my dear.
P.S.—There I stood beside the mail box with my face so very red. Instead of mailing you the letter, I had opened it instead.
[‘Forgetful Middle Years’ from 1001 Humorous Illustrations #580]
Application:
?Is your MEMORY Factor FAILING?
?Does it match the MEMORY Factor of Jesus?
?Is your Spiritual MEMORY FAILING?—Daily, Weekly, Monthy, Yearly?
?FORGOTTEN your commitment to the Lord—last week...?
?God’s discipline triggers our Spiritual Memory.
?Do You see the Justification for Accepting God’s Discipline?
3—A Factor in accepting God’s discipline is
The LOVING FATHER Factor(:7-10)
Explanation:(:7-10)
:7—“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?”
God’s people/“sons” actually “endure” discipline for the sake of being disciplined in the Lord.
God deals with His people as a father deals with sons.
It is obvious that no true son exists who is not disciplined.
:8—“But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate & not sons.”
As a matter of fact, an absence of discipline makes it obvious that the son is unloved & is considered illegitimate. Illegitimacy signals an acceptable lack of responsibility on the father’s part.
:9—“Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, & we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits & live?”
A further explanation of this concept is seen in our respectful response to our earthly father’s discipline.
When this concept is applied to the discipline afforded by the Father of spirits it is obvious that our response should be one of utmost respect. Our very lives depend on our acceptance of the Father’s discipline.
The above is true because our fathers disciplined us for a short time & in a manner that pleased them.
:10—“For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.”
However, in contrast, God disciplines us for our good. Our ‘good’ is in our becoming holy. We literally share God’s holiness; we actually take part in what makes Him holy.
Argumentation:
Jn. 1:12—“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”
Prov. 22:15—“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.”
Prov. 29:15—“The rod & rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”
Illustration:
Me/Sassing Momma/Daddy heard at bottom of stairs/I was trapped upstairs with no escape/Locked myself in bathroom/Daddy breaks door with wood flying/Discipline necessary for what I did/I had respect for my father because he did what was right.
Application:
?The LOVE from your heavenly FATHER Justify your discipline?
Don’t dump your earthly father’s faults in God’s lap.
God approaches our earthly father only in the area of needed discipline.
?You found Justification for accepting God’s discipline?
4—A Factor in accepting God’s discipline is...
The PEACEFUL FRUIT Fruit Factor(:11)
Explanation:(:11)
:11—“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
All discipline, without exception, appears to have no joy involved in it. It is instead sorrowful in appearance to the one(s) undergoing the discipline.
However, to the one who is/has been/has experience/ with its previous training, then it yields fruit in that person’s life. The fruit yielded by God’s discipline in a yielded saint is a righteousness which brings personal peace.
Argumentation:
Ps. 119:165—“Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.”
Rom. 5:1-4—“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; & perseverance, character; & character, hope.”
Gal. 5:22-23—“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
Js. 3:17—“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy & good fruits, without partiality & without hypocrisy.”
Illustration:
An Old American Proverb says,—‘The one who smiles when things go wrong is just leaving his shift.’
?Christian, Have you left your shift?
Peaceful fruit is any thinking person’s reason for turning to the Lord.
Application:
?Is the PEACEFUL FRUIT from God’s discipline apparent in your life?
?The PEACEFUL FRUIT from your heavenly FATHER Justify your discipline?
?Is your life characterized by PEACEFUL FRUIT?
?You found Justification for accepting God’s discipline?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Result of the Butterfly’s struggle=God’s design.
Action:
4 Factors in accepting/receiving God’s discipline are...
1. The LOW RESISTANCE Factor(:4)
2. The FAILING MEMORY Factor(:5-6)
3. The LOVING FATHER Factor(:7-10)
4. The PEACEFUL FRUIT Factor(:11)
CHILDREN’S—‘Pruned’
Tree Rose
Show places where branches have been cut so that it will grow straight.
Explain how this pleases the owner.
God is our owner & we must submit to His discipline in order to please Him.
Pts. 1-4 presented 12/31/2017pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE.(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
