Hebrews 12:4-11 Embrace The Lord’s Discipline

The speaker begins by expressing gratitude for the day and the role of Jesus in their life. They mention that they are studying and learning from David's lessons. They pray for guidance and ask for blessings from God. The speaker then talks about a previous lesson on running the race of faith and enduring challenges. They mention the example of marathon runners and how they face obstacles and setbacks. They discuss the importance of setting aside encumbrances and focusing on Jesus as the perfect example. They talk about the discipline of the Lord and how setbacks can be self-generated or external. They mention the example of King David and the challenges he faced. They also mention the persecution and challenges faced by early Christians. They emphasize the importance of staying focused on Jesus and not growing weary or losing heart. The speaker highlights the fact that they have not shed blood or lived a sin-free life, but they must stay focused on Jesus and trust in His purpose and p Well, this is truly a day that the Lord has made and he's going to help us to be glad and to rejoice in it. It's because of Jesus. Amen. Yes. So that's great. I'm really enjoying the study. I think I'm getting more out of it than... Because I get three lessons. I get one from David every Monday. And then I get to just review it. And then I get it again on Wednesdays. And I get to review it again. So this is great. Well, let's pray that God bless our time together. Dear Lord, thank you so much for your word. Like you tell us in Hebrews 4.12, that the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, divides to the soul and the spirit, joins to the marrow, the discerner of the motives and intents of the heart. Dear Lord, I pray that you would touch our hearts in a magnificent and wonderful way, that we become more and more like you. Thank you for your love, your grace. And thank you for the discipline you give us through your word and through Jesus Christ. And we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Amen. All right, David. So, picking up where we left off last week. Remember, we had a big, long passage scripture last week called three verses. But a lot in those three verses. Oh, it's packed. It's packed. And so we're going to start by kind of going back to a couple of those verses to set the stage for what we're going to talk about tonight. So, you might recall last week we talked about that we're to run with endurance the race that's set before us. And remember that race, that word race is in the Greek agon, in which we get agony. And we discussed the fact that it's not a sprint. This race that we run is a marathon. And there's challenges in this marathon. Remember, we went over what marathon runners can experience. Skin splints, overheating, stress fractures in their feet. I mean, it's just on and on, right? There's a list of about 10 or 12 or so items that I found. And I thought, you know, that's agony. I don't know about you, but I don't want to run a marathon. That's not on my bucket list. Never has been. But we talked about that. We talked about the encumbrances that we need to set aside. And I gave you the example of my son running track and how, in a real cold track meet, he was bundled up. And when he started, you know, warming up for his race. And after he warmed up, he goes to the starting line. And I asked the question, what came off? And the answer is everything. That he had to come off so he could run the race. And that's what the author's talking about. You know, encumbrances can be good things. But if we can let those encumbrances keep us from running the race. So we've got to make sure that we stay in the race. We don't let them affect us. And so those are some of the highlights from last week. We're to keep our eyes on who? Jesus. Jesus. He was the author and perfecter. And that author and perfecter basically means the initiator. The one that shows us the best example of how to run the race of faith in life. Because what did he do? He did exactly what the Father told him to do. And he did it trusting the Father would get him through it. Remember, when he finished his race, that moment he cried out to tell us, I, it's done. And then the very next words out of his mouth were, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. That is a statement of faith. That is saying, that's saying my race is done. I've done what you told me to do. And now I'm coming to you. Take me home. So not only was he, he showed us how, he also showed us how to finish. Perfecter means completer. He completed his race. Well, so that's kind of the overview of last week. So you go to verse 4 and the author says, you know, keep your eyes on Jesus who endured hostilities. He endured hostilities against himself. And so that makes you ask your question, is there any way I could run this race of faith without having hostilities against me? And the answer is no, right? Especially not tomorrow. Yeah. And Jesus even said that, right? He said, if you think they persecute me, what do you think they're going to do to you, right? If you're going to follow after me, if you're going to live for me, you're going to get persecuted. It's going to happen. There's going to be hostilities against you. But now the author says, but you have not yet resisted the point of shedding blood and you're striving against sin. In other words, Jesus has, right? But you haven't. And you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons. My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by him. For those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines and he scourges every son whom he receives. So referring back to running that race, we've learned that we will all have setbacks. Some of the setbacks are internal. What does Hebrews 12.1 say? Let's set aside what? Encumbrances and sins. So those are internal. We generate those things ourselves. So we can generate our own setbacks, can't we? There are some notorious Bible characters, I think notorious, great Bible characters that have some notorious sins that set them back. And the one that always comes to mind is my namesake right now. You know, I can't get away from King David. Every time I think about him. You know, man. And it wasn't just Bathsheba, guys. If you go and read his history, he had several setbacks. Several setbacks. And he shot himself in the foot several times. Well, so a lot of these things are self-generated. But there are also some external reasons for setbacks. In Hebrews 11.34 through 38, a couple weeks ago, we crossed these and looked at these. Somebody read that for me, please. ...escaped the edge of a sword. From weakness we were made strong, become mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. And others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection. The others experienced mockings and scourgings. Yes, also change and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were tempted. They were put to death with a sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated. Men of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. Now, there's your list of some external challenges that you can face in your race, right? There's your list. We have those things today, don't we? To some extent. We don't have maybe to the extreme. But I think it's coming. One of the ladies in the church showed me a book she was reading on Sunday. And it's called, I don't remember exactly the title, but it's The Eclipse of God in America. The Eclipse of God. In other words, America's got to the point to where they're saying God doesn't exist. They've blacked Him out. He has no influence, no play, no significance. And when you look at the governance of this land, and you look at the priorities of the culture, I can see his point. Right? I can see his point. And so, well, if I stand for my faith in the midst of a culture that looks at God that way, there's going to be a conflict at some point. It's going to happen. So, how do you run this race of faith, keeping your eyes on Jesus, understanding that conflict's coming, and what perspective should you have? So, what helps us stay in the race and endure the setbacks? Hebrews 12.3. And again, we said that again, I referred to it a minute ago. For consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. So, you have to stay focused on Jesus. What have we yet to experience while running our race of faith? Well, verse 4. We haven't shed our blood yet, right? I haven't, have y'all? I haven't shed any blood. Not against sin. Right? We've sacrificed ourselves, atoned for the sins of all people, and we definitely have not lived a sin-free life. Now, I'll tell you what. I'll speak for myself. I have not lived a sin-free life. I won't speak for y'all. I'll let y'all speak for yourselves. But I have not lived a sin-free life. And again, if Terry was here, you know, she would vouch for that. It wouldn't take long. Yeah. Yeah. She'd say, amen. That's what she'd say, amen. So, anyway, but while experiencing these setbacks, our perspective can get skewed. And we may question God concerning some things. We may concern God concerning, I mean, question God concerning His purpose. Why are we experiencing this? What's the purpose in this? We may question God concerning His presence. Are you there, God? I mean, are you here with me? Are you going through this with me? I don't sense your presence. I think about people that have endured pain for a long time. Endurance. So hard. Yes, it is. So hard to stay focused. And to stay true. And to be able to look past that. Yes. It's so hard not to get caught up in that. Yes. Yes. Again, as soon as you take your eyes off Jesus, where do they go? To you. Well, they go to you or they go to your circumstances, right? They go somewhere, but they're not focused on the solution. Well, self gets in the way. Self gets in the way. Yeah. Yeah. So you may question concerning His presence. Are you there? His permission? Are you really allowing this? Is this really His will? Is this really your will? And then, in other words, the big question is why, God? Why? Why? Now, who's the famous guy in the Bible that got to go through the closest thing that we're describing that we've yet to go through, right? Job. Right? Job. And what did he do? Right? He stayed true, but the whole time he is walking through that, he's trying to reconcile it. Why is this really happening? And he was struggling with it. He would evaluate himself and say, I know I'm not the cause of this. I mean, I've examined myself. One time I remember someone that's a friend and servant of the Lord, and we were having a conversation, and he was going through a patch. And he said, pray for me. I don't understand why I'm going through this right now. It's really, it's not Ron, by the way. I'm going to take him off the plate. It's someone you guys know. I don't just want to say his name. It's a wonderful man of God. He's going through a rough patch, and we're just talking, and he says, man, pray for me. And there's no answer. How do you answer that? I don't know the answer to that. I'm walking down the path of the toughest thing I ever experienced with my daughter when her best friend died. And we're in the hospital room as her death is approaching. And her dad looks at me and says, why, David? Why? Why not me? What can I say? My answer is, I don't know. I don't. Hard, really hard thing to walk through, both as a father and as the father of the best friend. The hardest phone conversation I ever made in my life was calling Amanda and telling her that Lori had cancer. Hardest conversation I ever had in my life. It killed me. You can't answer that question, can you? We don't know. But the questions come, why? Why? Ultimately, God reveals to Job the fact that he's sovereign. Right? He does it in an interesting way, right? He asks her a question. Right? What questions does he ask? Where were you? Where were you? And all of a sudden, Job gets it. He's God and I'm not. He created this by speaking it into existence. He doesn't have to answer to me. I have to answer to him. Exactly. And what does he do? He says, I repent. All of a sudden, he realized, who am I to question God? You know, there's one thing to read about it. There's another thing to experience. Yeah. That's where it really is at. Yeah. We walk through that. We do that. We say, why did God let this happen to this child? Why did God? How could God let this happen? Because, see, we have this little... Look, it happened in our fellowship with one of my best friends. Was it two or three years ago now? Dave Crom. I mean, he and I met every Thursday morning. We walked together. And I'm going, how does this make sense? Because glory earned it. He did. I'm jealous, right? No, seriously. I mean, he's living for the Lord. He's serving the Lord. He's got God's years in him. And I'm thinking, why would you take him? I didn't understand it. But God's sovereign. It's his reward. Yeah, it's his reward, yeah. You know, we don't see it. Him getting to go early is a reward, not a punishment. Yeah. So, y'all get the picture. I'm setting the stage for how we're going to look at discipline. Okay? Because that's what this lesson is about, is that one word, discipline. And we're going to dive into that. When your perspective is skewed, what have you forgotten? And let's go back and look at the hint in verse 5. And you have forgotten what? Verse 5. And stop the page. And you've forgotten what? The exhortation. And the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons. And what does it refer to? Well, it refers to Proverbs 3, 11, and 12. So look at Proverbs 3, 11, and 12. Somebody read that. My son does not reject the discipline of the Lord or loyalty to His reproof. For whom the Lord loves, He reproves. Even as a father corrects his son, in whom he delights. You bet. Okay. So, what have you forgotten when your perspective gets skewed? You've forgotten what? Pardon me? We're God's child. We're God's child. God loves us. And God loves us. And you've forgotten what God says. His word. To whom He loves, He disciplines. Yeah. Now, this group of Hebrews that the author is writing to, they know that verse. Remember, they don't have the New Testament. They've got the Old Testament. And when they went through primary school, what we would call primary school, when they went through primary school, one of the requirements of primary school was Proverbs. They learned Proverbs. So, he's saying to this group who's experiencing these trials and they're beginning to question the why, and he says, have you forgotten what God says to you? God's got purpose in this. And that purpose is kind of a heart of love. So, the subject of this scripture is the discipline of the Lord. The key word is discipline, which is a broad term. Now, we think that when I say the word discipline, it immediately comes to mind, if I say it, you know, with Noel here, because he and I, we're buds. And we've been on the same page before with that word discipline. All right? But you think of discipline, you think of, I'll say it this way. I think of grabbing him by the hand and saying, come on, son. You've got a lesson to learn, right? Or, you know, he was the one that was primarily the one I had to get out of my mind. But it wasn't often. But when I did, he knew, right, that he had a lesson he was going to learn. And you think discipline is painful. That word discipline and pain go together, don't they? Because you're thinking of what? I'm thinking about that paddle. And Jimmy probably used it back in his career on many a seat. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, yeah. It happened to me once, Jimmy. I was in the eighth grade, and we were in an honors math class. And the teacher walks in, and she's been out doing something. She walked in the whole class and says, we had nothing, you know, we're just talking and just free, right? And she said, that's it. Everybody here is getting a B in conduct. And I thought, oh, no. Because I knew what a B in conduct meant. You were in trouble at home. Oh, no, no, I wasn't worried about the home. I was worried about the athletic room. Uh-oh, yeah. Because back then, your athlete didn't cut up, right? If he started getting out of whack in conduct, he got whacked. That's all there is to it. In gym shorts. In gym shorts, yeah. I knew you'd been there. I knew you'd been there. Both sides of it. Both sides of it, okay. So, you think discipline, you think pain. Not necessarily so. So, let's look at what discipline really is. Okay? So, the word discipline is a broad term that refers to whatever parents and teachers and coaches, I left coaches off, I didn't think about them right then, do to train, correct, cultivate, and educate children to get them ready for life. You want to help them develop and mature, right? Right off the bat, you're telling your son or daughter, don't step out into that street without holding my hand. You know, David, when I came home from school with my report card, that's the first thing my father would look at, would be conduct. Ah, okay. And I never got a spanking or a hit for it, but I knew. Yeah. I knew that that look. Yeah. I didn't want to see that. Yeah, the look is bad enough, isn't it? You didn't have to do anything else. Didn't do anything else. That look got you. Yeah. She seemed her heart in there, didn't she? Yeah, she did. She's a sweetheart's what she is. You're blessed, Bill. You know that, don't you? You're really blessed. But I had an awesome father, David. Well, don't surprise me. He was an awesome man. I did too. And he had an awesome grandfather. Yeah, that's good. He was a good man. That's good. All right, so whatever it takes to get the children ready for life, right? So three primary purposes. They are punishment, which is a direct result of our sin, and correctness. Look at 2 Samuel 12, 10. Now, this is after the one I've already mentioned, that King David, one of his big mess-ups, right? The biggest one we all think of, which is Bathsheba and Uriah. And Nathan, remember, he sticks his bony finger in David's chest and says, you're the one if he told him that story. And David said, well, that guy that took the poor man's sheep ought to die? And Nathan goes, you're the one. And all of a sudden, David realizes that he thought he could hide his sin, or he knew better. But for some reason, he tried to. And all of a sudden, the reality sets in, no, he didn't hide his sin. It didn't get away with it. And what happens? Nathan says to him, okay. I think David right then said, oh, forgive me, God. I think he, right then, he had a heart of repentance and contrition. I think, and he starts, and I can just hear him begging for mercy. Because what's the reality? That sin was worthy of death. And David starts crying out, have mercy on me. So Nathan says, okay, well, you're not going to die. But there's a consequence you're going to experience. Oh, my. The sword's not going to depart from your house. And you know the rest of the story. Oh. So, punishment is one of the purposes to correct us. The second one is prevention. To prevent sin. It protects us. 2 Corinthians 12.7. Someone read that. Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exhausting myself, there is given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from exhausting myself. Okay, Susan. So your gold star is going to be to tell everybody here what that refers to. I know you know it. That's Paul's thorn in the flesh. Which is revealed to him, or is brought on to him, after what? Do you remember? Oh, after, I don't remember which revelation it was. Well, it's when he had, he never says, I went, but everybody says it's him that went to the third heaven. He experienced heaven's glory. And he is overwhelmed with the fact that he experienced heaven's glory. And, you know, and so I wouldn't exalt myself in that. Who gets to go to heaven and experience his glory in person? Right? Without being dead. You can't name him, can you? Enoch. Enoch, yes, exactly. That was it, right? Elijah. Yeah. But here he is. He experienced heaven's glory. And so to keep him from exalting himself, God gave him a thorn in the flesh, discipline. And it was protection, to protect him from doing something that would be detrimental to his work that God had given him to do. Anybody here like to follow after someone who's full of themselves? I'm just asking a question. No. Well, if Paul had gotten full of himself, his ministry would have done what? Crest and burn. Crest and burn. So here God says, I'm going to make sure that you are not going to get full of yourself. And so here comes this thorn in the flesh. Does that make sense? Okay. So, protects us. Man, thank God for his discipline that protects us. And then it educates us to better know God's power, sufficiency, ways, character, care, counsel. To know God, as Paul cried out, O that I may know him. Right? To know him. It instructs us. So God's discipline corrects us, protects us, and instructs us. It's not all painful. I don't know about y'all. I welcome his discipline. I sure hope I don't have to get the part that hurts, though. But if I need it, right? If I need to get corrected, then bring it on, because I need to get corrected. If I don't get corrected, where am I going? Farther and farther away. Exactly. But whom the Lord loves, what? He chastens. He chastens. He disciplines. He corrects. He protects. He instructs. The reason I grab Brent or Brian or Amanda and say, come on, we're going to have a conversation, is because this whole heart right here beats for them. Right? It beats for them. The love I have for my children and my grandchildren, I've had conversations with some of my grandchildren at some point in time, because they needed to have a conversation. It wasn't a conversation with the enforcer. It was a conversation with Pops out of love. But the purpose is what? To help them to become trained. To get ready for life. To live for the Lord. To understand the significance of walking with God. All those things. Okay. Did I beat that one to death? You all good? Alright. We can keep God's discipline from accomplishing its purpose in our lives. But what, I'm sorry, what can keep God's discipline from accomplishing its purpose in our lives? What can do that? Our resistance. Our resistance. Here it is. If we don't see it as God's, that God's discipline has a purpose, then what it says up there, my son, do not regard what? We take it lightly. We take it lightly. If we focus on the problem instead of seeking God's perspective, then we might faint. We might give up and not stay in the race. So the right perspective about God's discipline is so key. It enables us to finish our race. And to finish it well. Sometimes we just don't recognize that it's coming from God. True. And so then it's harder for us to yield to it. You know, if we don't recognize that it's coming from God's hand. So, ask. Is this a view? What do I need to learn? Are you showing me something? Right? Have I done something? Right? And praise him anyway. Yeah, praise him anyway. I mentioned this last Sunday. It was included Paul and Silas after they had gotten beaten and thrown in. Flipped in jail. Flipped in jail. Which the pastor preached on right before we taught it in Sunday school. But anyway. And the thing is, they were doing everything they were supposed to. God had showed them that they were to go to Macedonia. And they obeyed. And then they cast out the demons from that girl. That was the right thing to do for her. And they did everything right and still were beaten and thrown in jail and put in stocks. And so, you know, at that point they could have said, you know, Lord, we're doing what you told us to do. Yeah. Why is this happening? But instead, they chose to pray and sing praises to God in the darkest hour. And I don't think it's because they felt like it. I think it was a decision that they made to praise God anyway. Yes. And so, if we're in a situation that we don't maybe recognize coming from the Lord, praise God anyway. And I should still redirect our minds. It's amazing what praise does for you, isn't it? Absolutely amazing. Sometimes I'm going home. I had a challenging day. I think, I just got to praise. And I put on Pandora. And I go to my station. And I start singing. And the guys that are watching me drive are thinking, what is that guy doing? If they could hear, they wouldn't want to. Because, you know, I don't have the best voice any longer, you know. But I'm not going to stop praising. I can't stop praising. That song right now, now I get sidetracked. But I still got a reason to praise. I still got a reason to praise. So, good, Susan. Thank you for bringing that. The punishment purpose of this was described as scourging in verse 6b. That refers to flogging with a whip, which was severe and extremely painful. The point is that the punishment is appropriate to the severity of the offense. Get this, the greater our disobedience or apathy, the more severe the punishment. I'm sure I didn't coin this phrase, but I've said it many times. Every sin has a consequence. There is not one sin that hasn't got a consequence. And the very first consequence you experience when you sin is what? Guilt. Yes, you've fractured your relationship, your fellowship. You're always going to be a son, right? But you grieve the Spirit, right? Because where does the Spirit dwell? Within you. He knows exactly what you did. He knows exactly what you said. And He's grieved. And that consequence impacts me in terms of my walk, in terms of my joy, in terms of my fellowship, in terms of my service, in terms of my effectiveness, right? That's a consequence. Every sin has a consequence. But some sins have greater consequences than others. Has David? Not this one. Although I guess I could probably include myself in that. Not like that David I'm talking about, right? I hope not. No, no, I don't. Not, no, please, Lord. But that David, man, he knows exactly what this principle is. Oh, my. The greater the sin, the greater disobedience, the greater our apathy, the more severe the punishment. What should be our attitude towards the Lord's discipline in our lives and why? Well, thanksgiving. Somebody say grateful? Yeah, grateful. Because we're His child. We're His child, right. It proves He loves us. That's the point. That's my very first point in my lesson. Embrace the Lord's discipline. Because His discipline proves He loves us. And it proves one more thing. When I discipline my children or grandchildren, I'm wanting them to experience what? The best. And I know if they start going down the path they're on or continue, they're not going to experience the best. So I'm just, I mean, I could tell you all sorts of examples, but I'll leave it at that. You want the best for your kids. God wants the best for you. So He is going to bring His discipline into your life so that you can experience His best. And you've got to be thankful for that. All right. Point number two, it proves you're His. It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you're without discipline, of which all become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. There are several ways that we can know we belong to God. First of all, Romans 8.14. Somebody read that, please. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. So how can we know we belong to Him? We are being what? Led by the Spirit. Led by the Spirit. Can anybody in here, can everybody in here testify that they have experienced the Spirit of God leading them? Can you? Yeah. Yeah, amen. Right. What a comfort, right? He's led me to correct me. He's led me to instruct me. He's led me to direct me. He's led me to inspire me. He's led me to motivate me. He's led me. He's led me. To empower me. To empower me. To trust. To trust. Isn't that good? We're His. No question about the fact we're His. Next point. Romans 8.15 and 16. The Spirit you receive does not make you a slave so that you live in fear of Him. Rather, the Spirit you receive brought about in your adoption into sonship, and by Him we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirits that we are God's children. So the Spirit, number one, leads us. Number two, He testifies with our spirits. He confirms within us that we're His. And one of the ways that we know we're His is because we have no problem. Y'all ever have a problem going to the Lord? I don't. Do y'all hesitate? I don't hesitate, right? I know. I've said it this way before. God is sitting there, and on more than one occasion, I said, Lord, here I am. I know You've been waiting for me. And I praise You and thank You for the fact, get this, that Your ears are attentive and Your arms are open wide. And You've been waiting for me to come into Your presence and wrap Your arms around me. I think about my father when he was alive. I'm your father, right? When he was alive, the first thing I would do when I got into his presence was what? A hug. Did y'all have a hug? Absolutely. A hug. Well, my oldest son and daughter-in-law and their second son are in our house right now. And when they arrived yesterday, what do you think the first thing was I did? A hug. A hug. I saw him last week, but I hugged him again this week. It didn't matter. No, I hugged him, right? That's the way the Lord loves us. That's the way He relates to us. He wraps His arms around us. His ears are attentive. That's what I call a holy hug. A holy hug. It's a difference. Yeah. Whereby we cry out, Abba, Father. I can approach you without hesitation. That word, Abba, is that term of endearment that you have for your dad, right? It's personal. It's personal. So when my grandkids say, Pops, what does Pops do? He listens. He listens. He turns whatever you're doing to stop doing it and turns it over. I mean, it's instant, right? Yeah. You know, I'm just saying. That's proof that we belong to Him. Isn't that good? Isn't that good? There's a lot of comfort in knowing I belong to Him. So John 1, 12 says what? But as many as received Him, then He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. All right. So based upon that Scripture alone, do you recall the time when you, whatever way you did it, you bowed your knee, you prayed, whatever you did, but you received Him as your Savior? Do you remember that moment? Well, guess what He says? The moment you did that, you're His. You're His. And nothing can change that. That's what's great. Nothing. All right. What does the Lord's discipline in our lives also prove about us? Verse 7. Let's just go back to verse 7 and read it again. It's for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom the Father doesn't discipline? So what does it reveal, prove about us? We're His sons and daughters, and we belong to Him. If the Lord's discipline isn't present in a person's life, what does that prove about that person? Well, they're not a child of God. And sometimes children get so far, they're still children, but they get out of line so much that they cause pain in relationships. Would you agree with that? Right? So a child can get out of line. And he can wreak havoc. And it may appear that God's not disciplining him, and he's getting away with it. But if he's God's, God's going to do something. Except we can't see what God's doing in his life. Right. We don't know. And when you think of the prodigal son, it looked like he was all fun and jollies, but then his friends turned away from him, and then he ended up starving to death. God was disciplining him. Exactly. And we may think, well, he hasn't repented, he must be thinking life is good or whatever. Yeah. But we can't see what's going on in his heart. That's right. That's the point I was wanting to make. It's not ours to judge. That's my whole point. We can't see what God's doing. So it could be that even though you don't see the discipline outwardly, it could be that God's at work inwardly. And I go back to my brother Paul. I don't know for sure when... He had a professional faith early in life, but he strayed away. He'll tell you that he wasn't truly saved until 44 years of age in a prison yard in El Paso, Texas. And I think that's probably true. But God never gave up on him is the point. He kept working on him. And finally, at 44 years of age, he hits the deck and says, I can't do this anymore. And God says, that's what I've been waiting on. And I believe he has somebody praying for him. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. A mama, a dad, a brother. Not a lot we can do verbally. That's right. And I've told you before what God's done with him since is amazing. Amazing. So... Anyway, the point is you don't ever know for sure. It is not yours to judge. What's the best thing we can do? Pray. So... I'll say it this way. I have a prayer list I pray for on a routine basis. And I know for certain some of them don't know the Lord because they said they don't. And I'm asking God to do a work. I know that some of them earlier in life knew the Lord, but right now they're not walking as if they do. Right? So I'm asking. I don't know what the truth is about them. Only God and Him knows, right? So I'm asking God either way. I'm saying, God, here's my prayer. I just told my prayer to God. Save those who need to be saved and restore those who need to be restored. That's what I pray. Do whatever it takes to bring them to the point to where they hit the deck and they cry out to You for mercy. And save the ones that need to be saved and restore the ones that need to be restored. And I call them out by name. And I don't know what the status is. I know three or four of them have said, I don't know, I don't care. Okay? And I'm thinking, that's fine. You know, I'm not going to give up on you. Right? I'm going to keep praying. My God's big enough. But, you know, you've still got a free will. So... You can't underestimate the power of prayer. That's right. Thank you. Okay, finally. Discipline. Right? We embrace the Lord's discipline because it provides the best results. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much rather be subject to the Father's Spirit than live? For they disciplined us for a short time and it seemed best to them. But He disciplines us for our own good so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful but sorrowful. Yet to those who have been trained by it, get that word trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Several great results of the Lord's discipline. First of all, the Word of Life. Life. Verse 9. Shall we not much rather be subject to the Father's Spirit than live? Yeah, that's life. If a Christian persistently rebels against the will of God, what may happen? Look at 1 Corinthians 11, 27-30. Jimmy? Sorry, I was daydreaming. Okay. 1 Corinthians 11, 27-30. I had a little ADD moment, I'm sorry. You're fine. For whoever eats of bread or drinks of the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself in doing so, and in so doing he is to eat of bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks, judges himself. If he does not judge the body rightly, for this reason many among you are weak and sick in numbers. And Paul's writing this to the church in Corinth. And his letters to the church in Corinth were letters of correction. Right? And so he's correcting something that's going on in Corinth. And that is the way they observe the Lord's Supper. You go read the rest of chapter 11 in the context of that, you see some of the things they did. And ultimately he says, here's your problem. If you keep on doing this, God could take you out. He could say that's enough. So, wouldn't you rather live than get taken out by God because you're doing something wrong? I would. Guys, as I'm fond of saying, the guy I teach with is any more than Tim Alba. He's a broken record. I want to hear two words. In Spanish it's one. I learned that in Columbia. We talked about that last week, right? Well done. If God takes me out because of my sin, I'm not going to hear well done. I'm not going to hear it. I'm going to get in. I'm already is. But I'm not going to hear what I want to hear. I want to live. If a Christian persistently walks with and pursues an intimate relationship with the Lord, what's the result? Here's the opposite of the first one. Psalm 119, 165. Y'all probably know this by heart. I'm going to give you a look. Y'all remember Dr. Bell? Alright. So Jimmy Draper called Dr. Bell and asked Dr. Bell to come to be on his staff when Jimmy was pastor. And he gave Dr. Bell the title of resident theologian. Were anybody here besides me? Was Jimmy the preacher? A little bit. Well, every Sunday morning, before Jimmy would preach, Dr. Bell would come up to the platform, to the podium, and he would read the Scripture that was the focal point for the week. But before he would read it, he would say one of three or four verses. And this is one of the ones he'd say. Great peace have they, in the King James Version, great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing will cause them to stumble. And then he would read the Scripture for the day. He would focus you on what God's law is, His Word is. And then he'd say, now let's see what God's Word says. And that right there, to me, is so significant. Because when you walk with God that way, you're going to have, it won't be a bed of roses, but you're going to consistently walk with Him, and you're not going to be causing your own pain. Right? You're not going to cause your own pain. Nothing shall cause you to stumble. So life, second word, verse 10. What is the Word? They discipline us for a short time, He disciplines us for our good, so that we may do what? Share in His holiness. The Word is holiness. God's discipline brings life, God's discipline brings holiness. Ron, what does God desire in 1 Peter 1.16? Because God Himself is holy. And we be holy because God Himself is holy. That's one of the things He desires for us. How can this be a reality, Ron? Romans 8.29? Oh, you ought to put it in 8.28. Well, go ahead, if you want to. God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined for us to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. So, how can this be a reality? As we be conformed to the image of His Son, the more we become like Jesus, the more we become holy. Right? Amen. So, the third result of God's discipline in our lives is the word righteousness. Afterwards, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. How does discipline appear from a human perspective? Painful. Painful. Sorrowful. But when viewed with the right perspective, what should be our response to the Lord's discipline and why? I've already said it in so many words. What would be your response, God? What? Thank you. Gratitude. What now? Gratitude. Gratitude. Thank you. Praise. Praise. Y'all are all over it. What else? How about this? How about bring it on? Huh? Give me more. Seriously. Seriously. Do you want to be who He wants you to be? Bring it on. Whatever it takes. Make me like you. Bring it on. Count it all joy. Count it all joy. Psalm 139. It says, Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me. That in essence is what David is saying in that psalm. Bring it on. Show me what needs to change to make me who you want me to be. Bring it on. Do y'all want God's discipline in your life? I want everybody to shake their head yes. I want His discipline. I want it. Why? Because I want to have life. I want to be holy. And I want to experience righteousness. That's what we call the abiding life. Gold star to infinity on that one. That's great. That's great. So, I ask the question. Do I fully or truly embrace the discipline of the Lord? When I experience the Lord's discipline, what's my attitude and perspective? Is it bring it on? Am I grateful to receive it? Or, why do I have to go through this? That's the lesson tonight. Aren't you glad? When the Lord loves, He disciplines. Mom? It seems like when we go through those valleys, that's when we learn the most. Oh yeah. The hardest part is the walk. Yeah. Jimmy, you want to say something? It has struck me in Romans 8-29, the last part of that, that He would be the firstborn of many brothers. If you think of the firstborn, they're the ones that get the cream of the crop. We're going to be the firstborn. We're a child of the king, but we're the firstborn. It's like the firstborn. Wow. Yeah. It kind of hit me, wow. Yeah. Because I'm a middle child, I wouldn't want to be like that. That's a lot of work. That's funny. Oh wow. Now that was an A-plus-tintinity lesson. So, we get to now reflect on that. Because how does God practically bring that into reality in our life? Because God wants us to be real in all that we do and how we live. And so the reality is, who are we really? I mean, through all the barnyard fertilizer there is in the world. We have friends in Florida who there's a terrible hurricane headed their way. It's a Class 4-5. So the wind velocity is 165 miles an hour. And I just called my friend who lives right there where the eye of the storm is going. And he said, oh, we have our house boarded up in this concrete house. I'm praying just like you are. I said, no, you have a place to stay here in Dallas if you'll come. And he said, no, I think we'll stay. And he's one of the most godly men I know. So he's walking by faith, not by sight, but by faith. And I cannot criticize that. So how does one live by faith and not by sight? What do you think the attitude of a heart is that would consider living by faith and not by sight? So we have from Abraham the example. That's Genesis 15-6 where Abraham believed or had faith in God and God counted that to him for righteousness. And then we have a correlated verse in Matthew 6-33 where it says, the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Now that happens to be our family verse. And what happened with me and Joyce was we had just finished our residency in orthopedic surgery. And I completed the residency and I thought, do I really know a lot about orthopedics? And I said to myself, no. Should I know everything there is to know about orthopedics? I should know it, but I don't know it. So I said, I think I need to get further training. So I call up a doctor who's the team doctor for the Denver Broncos. I said, sir, I'm a new finished resident in orthopedics and I'd love to spend some time learning from you, the ins and outs of medicine, but I'm interested in sports medicine. Would it be okay if I come follow you or be mentored by you? And he said, well, this is the days when we didn't have to apply. I mean, there are usually up to a zillion applications for every position known in medicine. But in my day, this was before you were all born, and in my day, we'd just pick up a phone and say, sir, I would love to follow you and be mentored by you. Would that be okay? He says, well, sure, send me your curricular VTI and I'll call you back. And he called me back in two days and said, sure, we'd love to have you come with us and actually we can pay you for this. You can? And I got more money from that little fellowship than I did in my whole residency here at Southwestern. We got paid $600, didn't we? $600 a month. I think so. Yeah, but we lived on it. We lived on it. But gas, you got to remember, gas was $0.25 a gallon. And, you know, so we could live on it. Okay, so this was back in the 60s. 1972 to 1976. Okay. I was born. Yeah. See, you're born. You're actually born. Yes. So I'm with this team. I'm really a well-known orthopedic surgeon and these doctors were just wonderful to me. They made me feel. I grew up in Denver, Colorado, so that's why we wanted to go back to Denver. So I'm with the football team and I'm really enjoying getting to know these guys. They're humans, but they're big humans. They're extra big humans. And so one time I had a guy, he was 6'8". He weighed about 280 pounds, all muscle. And he had like a cyst in his knee. And so I was assigned the job of sticking a needle in there and drawing off this fluid. And I had drawn off about 200 cc's. He watched this fluid come out and so then he was going to stand up and he started to go into fainting. And he was headed right toward me. And so I thought, oh no, I'm going to die. So did you jump out of the way real quick? No, no. I sort of led him down. But as soon as they, when you faint, that's what they call a vasomotor syncopal epithelium. So what happens is your blood pressure, some people see blood and their blood pressure drops. So there's no blood to the brain so they faint. So as soon as I led him down softly to the ground, he was able to respond because his blood pressure went back to normal. So all you have to do is let them lie down and elevate their leg and they'll recover. And so I was able to live through that episode, but it was exciting. But during the time when we were with the Broncos, my pastor from Dallas, we hadn't found a church. So we were praying that if God wanted us to be back in Denver that we'd find a church to grow spiritually and didn't find a church. But my pastor was coming through Denver and the only day that he could be there was on a game day. And so I had to humbly ask my mentor, Sir, my pastor is coming in town and it's the only day he can come. Would it be okay if I missed the game? And after he fainted, he said, Yes, but you have to do some special work after the game and stuff like that. And I said, Yes, sir, I'll do that. So they wanted to visit a place called Boulder. The team is in Denver, the main city in Denver. So my pastor friend and his family and our family drove up to Boulder, Colorado. There's a fork in the road, one to go up Boulder Canyon, which is a little meandering stream down a beautiful canyon. And another one is the Big Thompson Canyon, which is the Big Thompson River, which comes from Estes Park. So those of you who have been to Colorado, Estes Park is one of the most beautiful parks in all of Colorado. So we were going to choose one or the other. But since we were right there at the river to the Boulder Canyon, we just decided to go Boulder Canyon. And we enjoyed the picnic up there and just really enjoying splashing each other with water and that type of silly stuff. But then we heard thunder and lightning. Thunder, the loudest thunder you can hear. But it wasn't in our canyon. It was in the next canyon that we would have gone down. And that was the Big Thompson Canyon. Those of you who remember some of the history back then, it was 1976. There was a flood that occurred because of that storm. And it had rained solidly for like two, three hours. And it had rained so much that the Estes Park had to open up the floodgates to let some water out or else the dam would have broken. So there was a wall of water that came down the canyon 20 feet high. There were 200 Campus Crusade for Christ ministers and pastors in that canyon at that time. And they were all washed away to their death. So that canyon was an almost for us. And so we felt so, so thankful. And we were relieved that we weren't in that canyon because we almost went up that canyon. And so as we thought about that, prayed about that, we realized that we're there very thankful for the Lord for preserving us. And so we felt like we were on borrowed time. So we decided to let Matthew 6.35 be the mantra and motto for our family. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added. We didn't know whether to stay in Denver or go back home to Dallas. But from that time on, we focused on going back to Dallas to go back to our church. And that's why we're still here today. And so we wanted to dedicate our practice in orthopedics to the Lord. So from the bottom up, God provided everything for us. He provided a place, a hospital for us to work in. There were only two orthopedic surgeons from the Mid-Cities to Fort Worth. So there were only two orthopedic surgeons. And so I was on call every other day, just like I was when I was doing my residency. But it wasn't as busy because they went over backwards to provide us an office. And so God provided the finances. If we needed $1,000, a check would come in for $1,000. If we needed a check for $5, a check would come in for $5. But that's how the practice began. And so we'd been in practice for 37 years. And so when I reached 70 years old, my wife said to me, who was my advisor, still is, and she said, you're 70 years old, you need to retire. And so I retired. I didn't want to, but... So I get to still do some practicing at Mission Arlington Orthopedic Clinic. So I do still a little bit of orthopedics. But I think what God has shown me over this time is the fact that that was a point of discipline to me, to show me that the life that he gives to us is a gift. His grace is abundant. And now I realize that even more so now when we can share with each other. David lost his friend, David Crome, who he met for, what, 12, 15 years? No. Not that long? No. Well, I lost my best friend. You know, the moment. You know, there's a close friend that you have. Well, my close friend was a guy named John Weber. And John was the team chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys and also for the Texas Rangers for many years. And we had met every, was it Wednesday or Tuesday? I think we met every Wednesday or Tuesday, every morning for like 13, 14 years. And he would swim. He was a really buff guy. He was a wrestler from North Dakota. They always had a top team in varsity wrestling. And so he swam every day a mile. Every morning he swam for a mile. And whenever we met in the morning, he'd grab me by the headlock and give me a noogie or two. And then he said, you know, God bless you. And I was blessed just to be alive after that. But one day he swam a mile getting out of the pool. And about mid-sentence, he just collapsed and died in a massive heart attack. And you'd think someone in that good condition, and he was probably mid-50s, that, you know, just totally surprised, took everybody by surprise, and especially me. And, you know, I had lost one of my closest friends. And so I was praying that God would give me a friend like that again. And after several years, I meet with this guy. You know, early in the morning. Maybe not as early as 6 o'clock, but early. And, uh... I thought you were going to say 6. Yeah, that's right. But he's a working man, so I don't have to work so hard nowadays. But, you know, this is what God does in regard to making reality. The disciplines that he takes us through to show us, really, who's in charge. You know, because life is so precious. And our life that we live now today, it could be taken from us this very day. You know, the rapture may occur, and up we go into the heavens. You know, just like, you know... Elijah. So, you know, the thing is that life is so fragile, but so precious, that God would want us to invest himself into us by disciplining us. And that's why God's Word is so important. You know, like Hebrews 4 talks about that. The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and divides to the soul and the spirit, joints and marrow. The discerner of the motives and intents of the heart. And then we also have Paul, you know, speaking. I still think Paul wrote Hebrews, but now we won't know until we get to heaven. Or he was one of his mentees. But also Paul, in writing, you know, he wrote in 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, he says, All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and instruction in righteousness, that the man and woman of God may be thoroughly equipped to do every good work. That was one of the other Scriptures that Dr. Bell would quote. Oh, he did that? He quoted that one. Well, thank God for Dr. Bell. I'm a fellow plagiarist of Dr. Bell, you know. His plagiarized God's Word. And that's what he wants us to be. To be fellow plagiarists of God's Word. To carry God's Word in our heart. You know, we may not know it verbatim, but the point is that we know it and we can live it. And you're living it now. So you all get an A+, to just show up and give us a lot of grace. You've graced us tremendously. You've been a blessing to David and me to motivate us to study diligently. He studies harder than I do, but I just copy what he writes and also what God writes in his book. But that's why it's such a blessed book. You realize that what God is doing for us is He's giving us His instructions for life. He's giving us a guideline in which we can live a life not only to survive this world, but to thrive in it. Now, you've heard this verse before, and it begins with a heart of humility. God mocks proud mockers, but gives grace to the humble. That's Proverbs 3.34. But he repeats it in 1 Peter 5. God mocks proud mockers, but gives grace to the humble. So Peter then says, humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may lift us up in due time, casting all our care upon Him, because He cares for us. He loves us. I got that. He says, but be alert, because the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking whom it devours. See, 1 Peter 5.8. But then he says, but resist him. Stand firm in your faith in Jesus Christ, because this is the struggle that all believers have that are dispersed in the world. But he says, but the God of all grace, who has called us to the eternal glory, that after we suffer a while, He will restore us and make us firm, strong, and steadfast in Christ Jesus. Ah, eyes fixed on Jesus, like Hebrews 12.1 says. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, what happens, and what happened to Peter? He was able to walk on water. So now we see Peter being an example of why we humble ourselves under His mighty hand. That we can be water walkers just like Jesus. But we're going to walk on air, actually, if He's going to take us to Himself. But then he says, later on, in 2 Peter 1, he says, now you, we, as Christians, we're all survivors, because we were willing to humbly place ourselves under God's mighty hand, by grace through faith. He says, now, I've given you everything you need to survive. By this, he says in 2 Peter 1, 2, 3, 4, I've given you everything you need to survive. I've given you my love, agape. And all you girls know that one. You know, that's, you know, love is. And see, all 16 points, all at one time. He gives that to us on the moment of salvation. He also gives us wisdom from above, James 3, 17, which is, first of all, pure and peaceable, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, full of good fruit, impartial and sincere. And He also gives us the fruit of the Spirit, full of good fruit. The fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Now, these are all qualities of life. These are not measurable by human means. See, all of you are very bright in where you are and the way you live life. But our IQ doesn't change very much. You know, when we were like teenagers, we already found out where our IQ was. You know, mine wasn't very high. But the point was, is that it didn't change very much even though I went all the way through graduate school. But there is something that does change, and that is our spiritual portion. And that's what love agape is, that's what wisdom from above is, and that's what the fruit of the Spirit is. It's spiritual portion, immeasurable. And that measure is from infinity and beyond. Now, He said, therefore, since you have my everything to survive, I want you to thrive. And the lesson today is the lesson of thriving in Christ Jesus. And this is to accept His discipline humbly and receive it with an open heart. And He's saying now, therefore, be diligent to add to your faith virtue, which is the courage to excel, to courage knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, to brotherly kindness, phileo agape. For to do these things in increasing measure, your life will be neither unfruitful nor unproductive in the Lord. But if you don't do those things, we're nearsighted and blind, and we've forgotten that we have been forgiven of our many past sins of unbelief. Therefore, be all the more diligent to add to your faith so you'll not stumble, you'll not fall, and you'll have a rich reward in the kingdom of heaven. Ah, now we're on to something, aren't we? If we receive God's discipline through His word openly and honestly, now God is saying, I have something for you ahead. Not only for the kingdom to come, but I'm going to give you a life just like Torrey Ten Boom says, the best is yet to come. See, Philippians 1.6 says we can be confident of this very thing that God who began a good work in us will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. You are each better today than you were yesterday. And you're better today than you were a week from today. And you're going to be better yet tomorrow. Because God is at the focal point of your life. So, God is saying to the author of Hebrews, I know who he is, but I'm kidding. But the author of Hebrews is saying to fix your eyes on Jesus and be diligent to be willing to accept His discipline in our lives as He draws us to Himself. See, this moment is a moment where we get to be iron men and iron women in one person's life. As iron strikes iron, so one man sharpens another, and one woman sharpens another. You know, us guys, we have these wonder women in our midst here. And it's a privilege. And the neat thing about life is the fact that life is worth living if we live it with Jesus Christ. So, like Micah 6.8 says, what does God require of us? To live justly, to love His merciful kindness, and to walk humbly with the Lord. Amen. A plus to infinity. And beyond. So, now we realize that now what God has for us is His best. And His best is Jesus Christ. Amen. So, He's giving us a wonderful, wonderful mantra. Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus this day and every day. So, let's pray. Dear Lord, thank You so much for this time together. Thank You for Your Word, which is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, devised to the soul and the spirit, joints and the marrow, to discerner of the motives and intents of the heart. Lord, Your Lord, like Galatians 5.6 says, help us to remember that the only thing that counts in life is faith in You, expressing itself through love. So, help us to continue to speak Your truth in love this day and every day. And the truth is Jesus Christ. And help us to remember, too, that the secret and mystery of life is Christ in us, the hope of glory. Help us to take Colossians 1.27 to heart so that we would there be able to carry on Colossians 1.28 to proclaim Him, teaching and admonishing everyone with all wisdom, so that we would be able to present everyone that we meet, greet and serve to be perfect and complete in Christ Jesus. Help us this day and every day to live Your Word humbly as we walk with You in love and grace and wisdom. Pray these things for Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. So to be continued. Thank you so much.