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The Father’s Discipline By Pastor Young Joon Park 8-23-09
Review last week message I. Fixing our eyes on Jesus Text: Hebrews 13:1-3 A. We are in the spiritual arena 1. “Therefore” 2. We have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, B. How to race 1. let us lay aside (remove, throw off) 1) Encumbrance a) Our work b) Our time and life style 2) The sin 2. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 3. Fixing our eyes on Jesus – our example 1) He is the author and perfecter (finisher) of faith, 2) He who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, 3) He did despising (scorning) the shame 4) He has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 4. Consider (think carefully) Him 1) Who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, 2) so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
John 21:21-22 21 So Peter seeing him (John) said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” We really need to fix our eyes on Jesus all times. It is very, very important matter in our life, because without Jesus there is no hope for us at all.
I. Father’s Discipline
Hebrews 12:3-13 12:3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 12:4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 12:5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, faint when you are reproved by Him. 12:6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” 12:7 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? 12:8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 12:9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 12:11 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. 12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
One audience came to the pianist who did perform very well in the performing theatre. The man praised him saying, “I enjoyed so much of your piano performance tonight. Wow, you have a genius talent in playing the piano. I believe that you are a natural born pianist.” The pianist thanked him, and saying, “I do not know whether I am a born pianist or not, but I do practice playing the piano for more than 10 hours every single day.”
There is no one born with a talent to play well, but we all need to train and practice long and hard continually.
In the same way, our spiritual life needs to be trained and to be grown as well.
Many times we believe that we are very well trained and equipped for the Lord. Also we believe that we are standing on very strong foundation, so we are feeling like and acting like that we are mature Christians.
But we will see ourselves how much we really are well trained and equipped, standing on the good foundation or our maturity when we face the difficult times or hardships. The people who are not well disciplined and immature will fall away from the course when the difficult time is come.
Our maturity is not based on our head knowledge or experiences, but it is depend on how much the head knowledge transformed our life to be like Jesus, and how much our experience to glorify the Lord alone.
God wants us to finish our race well.
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
A. Our Perfect Example, Jesus Christ
1. His Life Fulfillment 1) Jesus endured the Cross 2) He despised the shame.
2. The reason of His Life Fulfillment Because the joy is set before Him
What is the joy set before Him? 1) His accomplishing our Eternal Redemption 2) His Glorification at the Father's "right hand"
3. Consider Jesus Christ 1) Who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, 2) so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
The hostility was the environment of Jesus’ life. Satan used his wicked evil spirits and the people, even including all Jesus’ people against Jesus with full hatred, which had been ongoing even today.
We have to focus on Jesus and fix our eyes on Jesus, because not only there is no way to win the victory from the enemy without Jesus Christ, but also because our Lord Jesus Christ has gone through the same as we have gone through and going through.
Jesus Christ, our Lord, understand us perfectly, because He had experienced what we have experienced, which makes Him the perfect example of our life, and we need to follow His steps, each and every step of the way.
Hebrews 4:15-16 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
B. The necessity of the discipline
I already shared the 2 major hindrance issues for our race last week. 1) Encumbrance 2) The sin These two major issues are making us get entangled in our race. That is why we need the discipline.
Two different kinds of the discipline. 1) The discipline for the regular training for the race 2) The discipline for the purpose of the correction because of sin issue
Misunderstanding about the word “Discipline”
The difference between “Discipline” and “Punishment”
1. the sin Issue 12:4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
A few of ants came inside of our house, soon the ants will have invaded our kitchen and bedrooms – Whenever I see ants I kill them even just one ant in the house, and we clean the bedrooms and kitchen everyday Sin, in the beginning, is just a very small matter; however, we will end up facing the major consequences from it if we do not cleanse it right away.
Sin issue 1) some people with no concept about sin 2) some people enjoy sin 3) some people do not want to commit sin, but get entangled in bondage of sin
We have to deal with sins seriously as a matter of life and death. Our Father God took care of our sin very seriously. He sent His Son Jesus Christ and poured out His Wrath on Him for our sin and put to death. That’s the reason why we should not sin again.
We should be against all sins, because Jesus shed His blood for our redemption. We have to be against sins to the point of death. Do we really take serious our sin and against it at the level as a matter of life and death?
Our life is no longer ours at all, but the Lord’s because Jesus died for our sin. Your life is not yours, because God purchased you by His Son, Jesus’ Blood, So we have to live with our body as instruments of righteousness to God. We should not go back old life again.
Romans 6:13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
You have to repent and come out from your sin if you are still involved with any sin as soon as possible. Otherwise the sin drives you to the eternal ruin and torments.
2. We are His True Children
12:5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, faint when you are reproved by Him. 12:6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” 12:7 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? 12:8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
1) “You are My Son.” Identity from Father 2) “Whom I love Affirmation from Father 3) “With You I am well pleased.” Father’s Acceptance
We receive the same inheritance with Jesus. John 17:22-23a 22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23a I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity,
C. The purpose of the discipline
12:9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 12:11 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.
1. To be subject to the Father of spirits We have to learn how to have the fear of the Lord.
2. For our good to share His Holiness We have to be holy because our Father God is Holy.
3. To yield the peaceful fruit for righteousness Our life should be transformed and become fruitful life.
D. Our attitude during the Discipline
12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
When we go through the difficult time, we are going to be discouraged and to be losing the zeal from our heart. This heart is not from God, but from the enemy. Enemy’s strategy is always to steal, to kill and to destroy without any exception. If you are stepping back and going through having all kinds of negative attitudes and minds, then remember that you are getting involved in the enemy’s strategy.
So it is time to come out from the pit. 1. the hand that are weak 2. the knee that are feeble 3. the feet 4. the limb that is lame
Hebrews 10:38-39 HEB 10:38 But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My Soul has no pleasure in him. HEB 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
Conclusion Today many young people have weak minded, hunched over their computers playing video games, do not have much concern about many areas with loose mind. Some of them are very passivity attitude and untrained life style. Lots of the parents have a hard time because of their children, and many of them they do not know what to do.
I read the LA Times, and my eyes were caught on one page which was on the news paper for two days.
In Korea they have a very special military style boot camp for young people. 15,000 young people attend this boot camp 3 to 14 days every year. Some parents send their children because they were making problem to them, Some of them just send them to the boot camp without giving any detail information. A lot of the young people thought about the beach and they expect a lot of fun only because this boot camp is located at one island in west sea of Korea.
As soon as they arrive at the boot camp, what they find is not the place of their expectation, but the tough military style training.
A testimony by one of the young ladies who attended at this boot camp: “It was so terrible. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. My face was scratchy. All I could do was cry. But thinking back of the boot camp, and I am glad I did it. “I think I’m learning to be more confident of myself. I realize that the life isn’t all about only me.”
Untrained young people learned from this boot camp, and they changed their mind and the life. Then how much more it is important to have the discipline from our Heavenly Father? And how much more value for our eternal life? |