The Hope Beyond Discipline
"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11)
We have all heard the cultural saying, "No pain, no gain!" This is true not only in physical exercise and training but it is even more true in the spiritual life of a believer. We need to understand that God does some of His best work in adverse conditions and in times when we are most under discipline and have become aware of our need for His mercies and grace.
Whether we are going through the painful repercussions of our own besetting sin or experiencing the effects from the foolishness of others or the fallenness of our world, we must learn to receive any and all correction and discipline that the Lord allows in our lives. Even Jesus, who did nothing wrong, "learned obedience by the things that He suffered" (Heb. 5:8).
Do we desire the painful consequences of our shortcomings? Of course not!
Do we learn valuable lessons from God's correction and discipline? Absolutely!
Discipline is purposeful pressure that produces peaceable fruits of righteousness in our lives. Therefore, let us receive discipline as a means of receiving future blessings that have not yet blossomed in our lives.
There are three Kinds of Christian Discipline that we see in Scripture:
Whether our fathers and mothers and other authority figures on earth have disciplined us in the best ways possible or not, we must remember that our heavenly Father allows things in our lives and always knows what is best for us. For God knows how to apply just the right pressure in just the right way to get just the right results in and out of our lives. A wise servant of the Lord once said, "Before God can use a man greatly, He must wound him deeply."
Do you believe that God can bring good from the failures in our lives?
As long we receive the discipline of our Lord, we will know that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.
We learn that the beginning of discipline began in the Garden of Eden, when man first sinned and rebelled against God. Even though God set His children up for success by giving them clear instructions on how to live and prosper in the blessed life that He had prepared for His creation, the first two human beings listened to the wrong voice and made the wrong choice which brought devastating consequences into this word.
What did God do to bring healthy discipline to our first parents?
We see: God’s Pursuit…Purpose…Protection…and Provision
God has always been ready to bring the necessary conviction that leads to the right correction in our lives so that we can course correct and get back on track.
All of God's discipline flows from HIS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE toward us and always has a INTENTIONAL PURPOSE to bring out the best in us.
Consider these words from Jesus:
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent" (Rev. 3:19).
"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" (John 15:2).
In 1 Samuel 3-4, we see that there were many great consequences that came to Israel when the high priest Eli refused to discipline his two sons who were profaning the temple with gluttony and promiscuity. As a result, Israel lost their battle against the Philistines, Eli and his sons were killed, and the ark of the covenant was captured, which represented God's power and presence was taken away. All of this because a father failed to discipline his children.
This is why Proverb 19:18 says, "Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction."
Whether God disciplines us directly or we receive discipline by those God has placed in our lives to help us, we must learn the true value of discipline and how it makes us true disciples of Christ and contributors to His righteous kingdom.
Let us learn to prioritize and practice the spiritual disciplines and to receive discipline by those who are only seek to help us to grow and mature in our faith.
Therefore, no matter how difficult the situation may be or how hard it may be to maintain healthy hearts and relationships, let us "PURSUE PEACE with all people and HOLINESS, without which no one will see the LORD" (Heb. 12:14). For if we refuse discipline or delay doing the right thing once we become aware of what we should do, we will hinder our growth with God and others and open the door to pride and give a place for the devil to turn our eyes and hearts away from God.
Therefore, let us look carefully to the Lord and His ways and AVOID AT ALL COST these four damaging possibilities:
"Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil" (Prov. 3:25-27)
THIS WEEK'S NEW COVENANT EXHORTATION:
Let us take on a NEW ATTITUDE concerning discipline that we might become all that God intends us to be.
Let us see any DISCIPLINE as a means of God’s grace
where HIS LOVE is able to cover a multitude of sins.
We have all heard the cultural saying, "No pain, no gain!" This is true not only in physical exercise and training but it is even more true in the spiritual life of a believer. We need to understand that God does some of His best work in adverse conditions and in times when we are most under discipline and have become aware of our need for His mercies and grace.
Whether we are going through the painful repercussions of our own besetting sin or experiencing the effects from the foolishness of others or the fallenness of our world, we must learn to receive any and all correction and discipline that the Lord allows in our lives. Even Jesus, who did nothing wrong, "learned obedience by the things that He suffered" (Heb. 5:8).
Do we desire the painful consequences of our shortcomings? Of course not!
Do we learn valuable lessons from God's correction and discipline? Absolutely!
Discipline is purposeful pressure that produces peaceable fruits of righteousness in our lives. Therefore, let us receive discipline as a means of receiving future blessings that have not yet blossomed in our lives.
There are three Kinds of Christian Discipline that we see in Scripture:
- The Discipline that we receive from GOD HIMSELF.
- The Discipline that we receive from AUTHORITIES (parent figures).
- The Discipline that we give to OURSELVES (both individually & corporately)
Whether our fathers and mothers and other authority figures on earth have disciplined us in the best ways possible or not, we must remember that our heavenly Father allows things in our lives and always knows what is best for us. For God knows how to apply just the right pressure in just the right way to get just the right results in and out of our lives. A wise servant of the Lord once said, "Before God can use a man greatly, He must wound him deeply."
Do you believe that God can bring good from the failures in our lives?
As long we receive the discipline of our Lord, we will know that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.
We learn that the beginning of discipline began in the Garden of Eden, when man first sinned and rebelled against God. Even though God set His children up for success by giving them clear instructions on how to live and prosper in the blessed life that He had prepared for His creation, the first two human beings listened to the wrong voice and made the wrong choice which brought devastating consequences into this word.
What did God do to bring healthy discipline to our first parents?
- God CAME to him to allow honest confession.
- God CONVERSED with him to deal with the truth.
- God CORRECTED him and gave him consequences.
- God COVERED him and removed his sin & shame.
We see: God’s Pursuit…Purpose…Protection…and Provision
God has always been ready to bring the necessary conviction that leads to the right correction in our lives so that we can course correct and get back on track.
All of God's discipline flows from HIS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE toward us and always has a INTENTIONAL PURPOSE to bring out the best in us.
Consider these words from Jesus:
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent" (Rev. 3:19).
"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" (John 15:2).
In 1 Samuel 3-4, we see that there were many great consequences that came to Israel when the high priest Eli refused to discipline his two sons who were profaning the temple with gluttony and promiscuity. As a result, Israel lost their battle against the Philistines, Eli and his sons were killed, and the ark of the covenant was captured, which represented God's power and presence was taken away. All of this because a father failed to discipline his children.
This is why Proverb 19:18 says, "Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction."
Whether God disciplines us directly or we receive discipline by those God has placed in our lives to help us, we must learn the true value of discipline and how it makes us true disciples of Christ and contributors to His righteous kingdom.
Let us learn to prioritize and practice the spiritual disciplines and to receive discipline by those who are only seek to help us to grow and mature in our faith.
Therefore, no matter how difficult the situation may be or how hard it may be to maintain healthy hearts and relationships, let us "PURSUE PEACE with all people and HOLINESS, without which no one will see the LORD" (Heb. 12:14). For if we refuse discipline or delay doing the right thing once we become aware of what we should do, we will hinder our growth with God and others and open the door to pride and give a place for the devil to turn our eyes and hearts away from God.
Therefore, let us look carefully to the Lord and His ways and AVOID AT ALL COST these four damaging possibilities:
- Lest anyone fall short of the grace of God
- Lest any root of bitterness spring up
- Lest many people become defiled
- Lest there be any fornicator or profane person give up their blessing
"Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil" (Prov. 3:25-27)
THIS WEEK'S NEW COVENANT EXHORTATION:
Let us take on a NEW ATTITUDE concerning discipline that we might become all that God intends us to be.
Let us see any DISCIPLINE as a means of God’s grace
where HIS LOVE is able to cover a multitude of sins.
Recent
Archive
2025
January
February
March
2024
January
February
April
May
August
September
October
November
Categories
no categories
No Comments